Tales of the Cursed
by Spark Plug x
Summary: A new RPG called Tales of the Cursed has Lyra hooked. However, when Lyra wakes up one day as a princess in the very game she spent hours playing, arranged to marry Prince Proton, she isn't so sure she wants to be hooked anymore, especially when his castle is filled with cursed characters, who need Lyra more than she realizes. (Cannonshipping)
1. Chapter 1

**Oc forms will be in the next chapter. If the form is no longer there, that means I am no longer taking characters.**

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><p>Lyra Kotone smiled as she finished yet another route in her RPG game. The game had just come out last week, but she had already beaten it twice.<p>

It was a fun game called _Tales of The Cursed_. It was a basic RPG game where you could chose and design your own character, then set them out into the world. It had many different features and it was almost impossible to play it the same way twice, any slight change could send you swirling into a different outcome.

The plot was simple, depending on what you chose as your character's class. She had played as a knight, and was sent to destroy a witch and her cursed droids, with the help of her wonderfully thought out team and her pokemon sidekick.

Throughout the game, there was side stories, though Lyra never really played those.

"What do you mean you beat it again?" Ethan asked as she had a three way phone conversation with him and their other best friend, Silver. All three were playing the game, but Lyra was the only one who even managed to beat it.

"Lyra, do you even do the side quests?" Silver asked, rolling his eyes. "Uh, no, should I?" Lyra questioned, flipping through the walkthrough guide book she had gotten when she had pre-ordered the game months ago.

"Yes!" Ethan shouted. "It's so cool to hear the characters' background tales." Ethan finished, calming down.

"Lyra, the game is not meant to be rushed through. I bet your friendship levels were horrible in the game." Silver added and Lyra laughed. "I probably have more friends in the game than you."

"Ironic." Lyra muttered, scrolling through her book on the game, then held her items, requests, quests, and friendship levels. The levels of the people she had met weren't high at all. "I bet the only relationship that is even developed is of the one of your lover." Silver told her.

"I bet you chose Lance, didn't you?" Ethan asked snidely.

"Of course I did! He's a prince!" Lyra exclaimed. "What about Prince Proton?" Silver asked, playing the game as they spoke. "He's pretty cool and I love his team."

"Never heard of 'em." Lyra shrugged, staring at the picture of Lance in her walkthrough guide. Ever since she saw him, she knew this was the man her character was going to marry.

The game had many choices of bachelors, such as a few princes, a knight or two, a warlock, mage, healer, and others. All were of different genders and ethnicity and races, so there was many to choose from.

"Of course you haven't. If you spoke to the characters in the game, you would know more about it. Did you try to befriend anyone?" Silver asked. "You need to play through it again, and this time, actually try to befriend people. Cook or craft items on the game, don't just go and fight."

"Sounds boring." Lyra grumbled, but started up the new game file. "I guess I'll try to be a healer…" She muttered, but Ethan sneezed, startling her, and she accidentally chose the 'princess' option. "Oh damn." She whined, but went with it as she designed her character, frowning at the overly girly options for her character. "Guys, I'm about to start my adventure as a princess, so I'll talk to you two later." She said her goodbyes and hung up, prepared to get fully engulfed in the game.

She blinked as the screen on her tv got brighter and brighter until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and closed them. When she opened them once more, she was no longer in her room, she was in another room that wasn't anything like hers.

"Oh, princess!" A maid rushed into the room, grabbing Lyra's attention. Lyra glanced towards the large mirror in the room, and almost screamed. She was wearing a dress! A big, poofy, dress! And, oh god, was that a crown on her head?! She touched it, then whined. Oh jeez, it was.

"Princess, please, they'll be here any moment now." The maid rushed out of the room once more and Lyra looked around, confused.

"Hellllooo." A bright gold light appeared above her shoulder. Lyra squinted at it. "It's me! Ethan!" The bright gold light turned into a small fairy who resembled her best friend. "I'm here to help guide you through the game."

"The game?"

"Yes, you are in the game." Ethan replied. Lyra slammed the door to the room shut and locked it. "Ethan, this isn't funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny, Princess." Ethan shook his tiny head, and clapped. A book landed in her hands. "This is the walkthrough guide you had sitting in your lap when you were brought here."

"Oh thank god." She flipped through it, going to the section about the Prince/Princess option.

"You are the Princess of Caturay. Your kingdom is a peaceful one and you usually get along with everyone around you. However, things are getting rough, and you need an ally in case war is in the future. You are about to put into an arranged marriage with one of three princes." Ethan explained as Lyra read it.

"Princess!" There was a knock on the door. "Give me a moment!" Lyra shouted and the knocked ceased. "Ethan, I cannot be stuck here."

"You are until you 'beat' the game." He told her, shrugging his tiny fairy shoulders. "You know this game pretty well, don't you? This will be easy, however, time won't move as fast as it does in the game…I think you should just go and pick a prince now."

"Oh dear lord." Lyra groaned, unlocking the door. "I'll stay with you and if you have any questions, ask me, ok?" Ethan floated near her shoulder as she left her room. Lyra took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. She had played more than enough otome games where this happened and read far too much fanfiction about situations like these too continue to freak out. "Does this mean I can marry Prince Lance?" She asked Ethan, who rolled his eyes, but nodded his head. She smiled widely, now rushing down to the main floor.

"Lyra, darling, there you are." Her father said once she appeared. He put his arm around her and guided her towards two males that stood there. One was a tall red head, who smiled at her. The other was a male with green hair and a frown, but showed a small smile to the princess, bowing slightly to show respect.

"This is Prince Lance of Dragon Nest and Prince Proton of Enderson. Prince Cassius of Covers Island was supposed to be here, but it seems that he has not shown up…" The king trailed off. "You know how Cassius is, always running off somewhere. He won't make a good king." Lance said and Proton rolled his eyes at this.

"He's an adventurous guy." Proton said, obviously friends with the other prince. "He is, isn't he?" The King smiled, then turned to Lyra. "Now, Lyra, I know I always told you that I would never force you into a marriage, but times are changing. I'm only able to give you a choice between these two fine gentlemen. There was a third, but he seems to have other business to attend to."

Lyra's eyes, of course, went to Lance, but something pushed her eyes to Proton, who seemed surprised that she was even considering him. "Lyra, pick Proton." Ethan said, next to her ear as her father started to speak to the two males, giving Lyra time to think. She walked off, away from them as Ethan floated around her head.

"Uh, no." She whispered, looking to Lance again. "Trust me, pick Proton. You won't get anywhere with Lance. You can't marry Lance if you chose the Princess route. That's a spoiler, but, I thought I'd let you know. Choose Proton." Ethan continued and Lyra's eyes went back to Proton, who was watching her. "But, Lance, he's, he's so perfect…there's gotta be a way I end the game with him."

"Urg, Lyra. I know, you're in love with him, but, come on." Ethan rolled his eyes. "Do it differently this time."

"Proton looks, weird." She muttered to the fairy. "Besides, Lance is far stronger than Proton and this is supposed to be for the good of my kingdom!"

"Both of them are equally strong, that's why your father is letting you choose. You have good relations with both kingdoms, your choice won't hinder the relationship with either kingdom, but, please choose Proton."

Lyra cleared her throat sighed. "I've thought about it for a while now and I've chose Prince Proton, if that's alright." She said, turning back to the males and walking towards them.

"Of course it is, sweetheart!" The king exclaimed, Lance looked relieved and Proton looked shocked. "Ah, your mother will be so excited. Proton, I do hope you take care of her."

"Y-Yes sir." Proton muttered, bowing his head again as Lance smacked his back playfully. "Congrats!" Lance smiled and Proton shot him a weak smile, still shocked that Lyra chose him.

"I better have made the right choice." She threatened under her breath to Ethan, who shot her a grin.

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><p>"I have to live with him?" Lyra stared at Ethan with wide eyes as her bags were packed for her and thrown into the carriage. "Oh, oh dear lord…."<p>

"Lyra, you know how this sort of thing goes." Ethan floated beside her. She had just made the choice an hour before!

"Now, Lyra, please be a good dear, alright?" Her mother kissed her and her father hugged her tightly. This was far too rushed for Lyra, and she had a bad feeling. She was ushered into the carriage. Proton hopped it and the door was shut. They took off at an alarming speed.

"It's nice to meet you, Princess." Proton started. "I suppose your parents didn't tell you…" He muttered.

"What do you mean?" Lyra questioned.

"Your kingdom is under attack as we speak." Proton said.


	2. Chapter 2

**I feel like Lyra would handle this situation well. I am done taking ocs. I've got plenty. Not all ocs will be in this chapter, I'm trying to bring them in slowly. Also, links to pictures of the characters (including Princess Lyra) will be on my profile, since I am horrible at describing how they look. Not all characters will be there since I don't know if their creators made pictures of them.**

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><p>Lyra blinked a couple of times, processing what Proton just told her. Okay, she could see how what he said was true, it made sense.<p>

"Princess?" Proton asked, tapping her knee to get her attention.

"Lyra. Just call me Lyra." She said, first, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I can handle this. I got this." She told herself more than Proton. The carriage shook at this moment and Proton hit the ceiling of the carriage. "Take care of it you two!"

"With pleasure!" A voice called out while another male laughed.

"You're taking this surprisingly…well…." Proton gave her a weird look, wondering what this girl was on. She was calm and relaxed and it was freaking him out. She just crossed her arms and looked out the window.

"Well, I'm a very relaxed person." She lied and Ethan laughed, sitting on her shoulder. She had also read the story line of the Prince/Princess, so she knew the just of the plot. It was just a game and she would be fine.

Or, it was possible none of this had hit her yet, that she was arranged to marry this boy, to be queen of his kingdom she knew nothing about, while her kingdom was under attack.

"Lyra, I'm proud of you for handling this well. I guess all that fanfiction about stuff like this prepared you for it." Ethan said and Lyra resisted the urge to flick him off her shoulder. "Anyway, it will be fine. Just think about your choices and try to be open minded. Prince Proton is a really great guy."

"I'm sure." She said dryly, earning another look from Proton. She probably looked insane for talking to herself, because she was sure Ethan could not be seen by him.

"Yo, boss." A male with blond, spikey hair said, hanging on the side of the carriage. Lyra jumped back, startled by his sudden appearance. He smiled at her and either winked, or blinked, she couldn't tell because his left eye was covered with bandages. He looked familiar, but Lyra couldn't remember when she knew him from. "Nate and I took 'em out."

"Thank you." Proton shot him a look and the boy just climbed to the top of the carriage once more. "Anyway, I guess we'll be getting….married."

"Don't sound so excited." Lyra said sarcastically.

"I'll try to contain my excitement, though it will be difficult." He replied and they both stared each other down. "Who was that?" Lyra asked, breaking the stare down.

"I, your highness, am Cas. Nice to meet you." The boy grinned, reappearing at the window again. "Sorry about the bumpiness of the ride, but you're safe with us."

"Thank you, Cas." Lyra said as a hand yanked him back up to the top of the carriage.

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><p>Lyra laid back on her bed at Proton's castle, staring at the ceiling fan that was spinning slowly. It was a beautiful castle, it really was, much to her surprise.<p>

It wasn't really busy, like Lance's castle was. He had tons of maids and workers around, but Proton's castle seemed a bit, empty. In the past three hours since she had arrived, she had seen maybe 4 maids.

"Ethan, this is boring." She said and the fairy appeared once more. "Then leave this room and wander around." He suggested. Lyra decided that maybe he was right and left the room, looking for someone to talk to.

"Now, I can't tell you much because, you know, spoilers, but Proton has a habit of collecting cursed people." Ethan explained. "He's a good guy in that sense, because as you know, cursed people are sometimes seen as bad luck."

"Let me see the walkthrough guide." She ordered and it appeared in her hands. She flipped through it, going to Proton's profile. Much of it was what Ethan had already said. She then flipped to Cas', but much of it was blank. "Why is it blank?"

"Spoilers." Ethan said. "If you knew everything about these people, where would the fun be?"

"Oh my god." She groaned and the book disappeared. "Hello your highness." A male voice said, but when she looked up from where the book had been in her hands, all she saw was a hooded female. She knew it was a girl because she was wearing a skirt and had the body of woman, but her face was concealed by the hood she wore.

"Hello." She replied, a little frightened. A red light floated around her, like Ethan floated around Lyra.

"Hey!" Cas greeted, coming up behind the hooded female. "Ah, princess, this is Nate. She can't speak, so her lil' fairy there does the speaking for her."

"I'm Silver." The fairy grumbled, crossing his tiny arms. "Mostly anything I say is what Nate wishes to say."

"Anyway, don't be scared by her. She's a sweet heart." Cas grinned and Nate hit him, probably rolling her eyes under the hood. "Eh, that curse has made you bitter." He continued, then looked to Lyra.

"Cas is an idiot. Please excuse him." Silver said on behalf of Nate. "If you need anything, princess, I will try my best to assist you."

"Just call me Lyra." Lyra smiled. "And thank you, to both of you."

"No problem, Lyra. I'm glad you chose to marry Proton, he's far better than Lance." Cas said. "Lance has been arranged to marry tons of princesses, but he always backs out. He might've done the same thing to you."

"Really?" Lyra asked, now interested.

"It does not matter." Silver said, speaking for Nate who shook her head. "We need to go meet with Proton, goodbye, Lyra." With that, Nate pulled Cas down the hallway and Lyra waved goodbye to the both of them.

"So, what's Nate's deal?"

"She cannot speak. Her mouth was sealed by the same witch who cursed Cas." Ethan explained. "I think she wears the hood to hide her face, she might have scars from it. I can't say for sure, because, you know, spoilers. All I know is that there is more than just them, and you need to help them all. They won't break their curses unless you help them, Lyra."

"No pressure, or anything."

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><p>"Hello, your highness."<p>

"I thought I told you guys to just call me Lyra." Lyra groaned, then turned to face a girl with blue hair that she didn't recognize. A male with orangish brown hair stood next to her, eyebrows raised. The girl laughed, the purple amulet on her neck bounced slightly. "I'm sorry!"

"No, no, it's alright. The Prince told us his soon to be wife would be here and that you were different." The girl explained. "I'm Jo, this is Taylor." The blue hair girl had her hair up in a low ponytail and a friendly expression, while the boy looked more reserved then her, though he did have a glint in his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you both." Lyra said. It had been three days since she was sent to this world, she they dragged by. The wedding was going to happen in fall, and it was spring now, so she didn't even bother to think about it. She had already been hit with the reality that this was her life now. It sucked.

"I hope we can become friends." Jo started. "I need to go check in with Proton. Excuse me." Taylor said, excusing himself from the two girls. Lyra noted the two large swordfish swords on his back and shivered slightly. "So, do you do any magic or crafting or cooking?"

"I can boil water." Lyra admitted sheepishly. "What are you?"

"I'm a witch!" Jo winked. "Have you met Jordan? He does magic too, but he's a little bit better than me at it." Jo grumbled, sighing. "No, I haven't met him yet." Lyra answered, curious. "You can do magic?" She asked, excited. Finally!

"Ah, a little. I'm hoping now that we're staying here, I can practice more. I'm usually moving around wherever Taylor wants to go, so it's harder to practice." Jo said, moving her hands and creating a small flower.

"That's so badass." Lyra said as Jo gave her the flower. Jo started to laugh, loudly, but then there was a bang and crash from the room Taylor went in to. The two girls rushed over to the door and Cas stormed out, irritation evident in the way he walked.

"Sir!" Silver said for Nate as she rushed out after him. His hand was covering his left eye and he turned back, pointing at Taylor. "We're goin' have issues!" He exclaimed, growling. His teeth were sharp and a little frightening.

Cas turned and saw Lyra, immediately freezing. "A-Ah, hello!" He waved with his free hand and Nate froze too, not sure what else to do. Taylor left the room, chuckling at the two. Nate grabbed Cas' arm and the two hurried off, probably to go fix up Cas' eye.

"Taylor, what did you do?" Jo asked, sighing. "We really don't want to anger him."

"He'll be fine, he over-reacted."

Proton came out of the room, looking to Lyra. "Are you alright?" He asked her, a little concerned. "Those two idiots, I swear. Cursed or not, they need help."

"Jordan is coming soon, right?" Jo asked Proton as Lyra turned the flower over in her hands. "Yes, he should be here soon with his companions."

"I have arriivveeddd!" A female voice exclaimed. It echoed around the room as the large doors opened, revealing a girl with curly brown hair in a dark pink dress. Her heels clacked as she walked towards them, two males following. One was blond with a bow and his arrows on his back, and the other had black hair and a long staff strapped to his back. "Sorry, but, how are you all? Oh, oh! Is this her Proton?" The girl's bright purple eyes went wide when she looked at Lyra. She rushed over, grabbing Lyra's hands in hers. Lyra noted the girl's pointy ears. "She's adorable. Wow."

"Ah, nice to meet you…?" Lyra asked, looking to Proton. "Oh, Lyra, this is Leighton. Princess Leighton." He added and Lyra suddenly recognized her.

She was an Elven Princess of a northern kingdom. "This is Jordan and Mikhail!" She introduced her friends. "It's so nice to meet you Lyra! I'm glad Proton got such a cute princess!"

"Leighton." Proton muttered, embarrassed. "Oh, boo." Leighton mumbled, letting go of Lyra's hand. "Well, since you are soon to be princess, or queen, of this kingdom. Have you even explored it yet?"

"No, actually."

"I know what we are going to start to do! You must make the kingdom adore you. The people of Cover Island adore their Prince, which eliminates all possibility of mutiny or rioting. Which, I don't see why they like him so much, he's apparently an egotistical guy who acts like a kid."

"You haven't even met the guy and you pass judgment?" Cas questioned, eye re-bandaged as he came down the stairs with Nate following closely. "It's nice to see you again, Princess."

"Ah, you still have this guy as your knight, Proton?" Leighton asked. "Nate, I can understand, but Cas?"

"Hahaha, funny." Cas grumbled.

"If you two are going into town, Nate will go with you." Proton ordered. The hooded girl wanted to protest, but stopped herself, looking to Cas for help.

"Sorry, Nate, boss says so." He shrugged.

"We'll just do a quick walk around today, but starting tomorrow, we'll go and do events! Proton, make it so." Leighton commanded, smiling. "Get the advisor to set up a few thing, maybe at the orphanage or something of that nature. Lyra, I know how to win people over."

"Guess that means we'll be going." Jordan grumbled.

"Of course you two will be. I've followed you two around since we met." Leighton starting turning to the two. "We're all cursed. Well, I'm cursed." Leighton explained, looking to Lyra. The girl had chains around both her wrist. Mikhail had some around his right wrist, while Jordan had some on his left wrist. "We can be more than a…how many? Oh, yes, we can't be farther than about, 50 yards apart. Binding curse and all that jazz."

"We're just unfortunate victims." The blond one, Mikhail said. Cas laughed and grinned at Mikhail, who nervously glanced at him.

"Lyra, let's go." Leighton said, turning towards the large doors, heels clacking. "We need our cloaks!" She looked to Nate to fetch them.

"Nate, please." Lyra added, trying to be nice to the hooded girl. She stormed off, fetching the cloaks for the two princesses.

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><p>"Now, Lyra, smile." Leighton said as the three girls walked through the kingdom. Mikhail and Jordan were shopping around making sure to stay close enough to Leighton because of the curse. Nate stared down anyone who seemed like trouble, while Leighton and Lyra chatted. "I think Proton is about to become king in the next week or so…I'm sure he's stressed out right now, so he might not be around much lately."<p>

"Not like he's around much now." Lyra grumbled, thinking over how the past few days, she never saw Proton much at all. "He's busy with kingly duties! And you need to start being busy with Queenly duties!"

"This is your kingdom now, your highness. When the day comes, you shall have to help rule this one and rule your own kingdom." Silver said for Nate, who looked towards Lyra as she walked behind both of the girls. "Nate, why don't you lift up the hood?" Lyra asked. "I like to see people when I speak to them."

"Silver is the one who is speaking, your highness. It's best to look to him." Silver said for Nate, then looked to the girl. "I don't want her looking at me when I'm speaking for you!" He exclaimed, annoyed. "Well I refuse to remove my hood." He said, for Nate, then groaned.

"Ah, it looks like he's arguing with himself." Leighton smiled with a giggle.

"Gather around!" A female voice shouted from the town square. "Do you want to know your future?" A girl with long stringy black hair asked. She was very tall and willowy with a dark purple cloak hiding whatever she had underneath.

"Ah, Princess!" She called out, smiling to Leighton and Lyra. "Oh, Princess_es_." Her smile grew when she saw both the brunette girls and Nate hesitated, but followed the two girls closely. "And their protector. Ah, honey, if you never take down the hood, you shall never have your cursed lifted." Silver scoffed, though Lyra wasn't sure if he was speaking for Nate or just for himself.

"Now, Princess Leighton, from the Northern Elven Kingdom, would you allow me to predict your future?" The girl asked and Leighton raised her eyebrows. "Sure." Leighton shrugged, not taking her seriously. The girl's light purple eyes went blank as she concentrated, focusing in on Leighton's future. "These sort of things are never true." Leighton told Lyra, shaking her head.

"Ah, princess, it seems that love might be in your future. Whether you stayed cursed or not, it will find you. However, I see many challenges ahead….I would go forth with caution…" She murmured, but Leighton didn't care. "LOVE?!" She exclaimed, now a full believer.

"AH, that explains why I cannot see anymore. If it were only that easy to make everyone believe me." She sighed. "I'm sorry Princess, but I cannot see any more of your future right now."

"Awah!" Leighton whined, pouting.

"Lyra, Lyra!" Ethan flew around her head quickly, wanting her attention. "You should invite her to come back to the castle with you!"

"Are you insane?" Lyra asked him as Leighton tried to get more information from the woman. "Uh, no. She could be crazy and Proton would be pissed."

"But she's cursed!" Ethan exclaimed. "Proton collects cursed people like some people collect coins or stamps. Plus, she can predict things that will happen. She might help us win the war. Lyra, trust me, I know the walkthrough guide is blank for you at most parts, but it isn't for me. Everyone you run into will be important."

"Fine…urg..what is your name?" Lyra asked the woman, wondering how to go about doing this. "I am Kassandra." She replied, facing Lyra. "I'm here to help, if they allow me to, the Royal Court. I feel like I can be useful" She explained as her misdreavous floated around her.

"Well, then, Kassandra, go see if we can make that happen." Lyra decided, surprising them all.

"Excuse, your highness, are you sure this is alright?" Silver asked for Nate.

"Nate, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Besides, I want to help her." Lyra smiled, actually feeling pretty good about her decision.

She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, or what was going to happen to her, but as long as she was stuck in this game, she might as well try to help. When she played as a knight, she mostly protected a kingdom. Silver and Ethan were right to lecture her on how she played the game. She didn't try at all to get to know everyone, that's probably why she didn't understand why the game was called Tales of the Cursed. Now, though, she was going to do things right. She might not get to fight monsters or marry Prince Lance, but she was going to get to help these characters that needed her.

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><p><strong>Alright, that's not all of the characters, but that's most of them. Hope you liked this chapter! There'll be Proton in the next one<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"Lyra, you're taking in strays like Proton does." Jordan commented and Leighton smacked the boy's arm. "You are being rude to our new guest."

"It's fine, really." Kassandra said with a small smile. The group was in the main lobby of the castle, which was like the living space. Proton's castle felt more to Lyra like a mansion than a castle.

"Who is this?" Proton asked as he came out of the study, confused. "This is Kassandra! She can see the future." Leighton answered, stepping in. "She can help us with this war!"

"Your highness." Kassandra bowed, respectively.

"Hm, come with me." He said, heading back into the study. "Cas!" He called out and the boy sprung off the couch, hurrying into the room with them. Once they were all in, the door was shut, and Lyra guessed, locked.

"Why does Cas get to go in there?" Leighton asked, annoyed. "I'm a princess, he's just a knight."

"Just a knight?" Silver questioned as Nate shook her hood. "I didn't realize being a knight was a lowly thing."

"That's not what I meant Nate." Leighton huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you for going to town with us, Nate." Lyra thanked the hooded girl. "So, everyone, who in here is cursed?" Lyra asked, turning towards the group.

Nate raised her hand, then her other hand to count for Cas. Leighton raised her hand, as did Jo. Mikhail, Taylor, and Jordan kept their hands down, but sighed, obviously looped into their companions curses.

"Anyone wanna tell me about these curses? That's the only way we'll be able to get 'em fixed."

"You're going to try and break our curses?" Jo asked, excitedly.

"I might as well try. Proton and I seem to have a knack for collecting you guys." Lyra put her hands on her hips, determined. The others looked a little doubtful, but Jo was excited. "Soooooo….hm….who should I try first?" Lyra looked with a mischievous smirk. Ethan pointed towards Nate and Silver glared at him, shaking his head. "Nate! Take off the hood!" Lyra exclaimed, reaching for the girl's hood.

"Ah, let's not antagonize her." Cas said, reappearing again and stopping Lyra's actions. Nate had jumped back, looking terrified at the Princess' actions. He held Lyra's wrist firmly and smiled at her, though he did look a bit annoyed. "Awah, I'm just trying to help." Lyra pouted.

"You will help, in due time, Princess." Kassandra said, leaving the study with Proton. "You already helped me greatly today, so I must say thank you to you." She bowed again, a bright smile on her face.

"I'm a little unconvinced, but, if Cas trusts you then I'll trust you." Proton murmured. "Lyra, please let me know when you bring another person home, before you actually bring them here."

"I'll try my best." She smiled at him, but he just rolled his eyes and went back to his study.

"Ah, princess, don't cause any more stress to him than he always has." Cas suggested, staring at the study door. "Reminds me, we oughta head back home for a bit, shouldn't we?" He asked Nate, and of course, she didn't respond.

"Where are you two from?" Taylor asked, a little relieved that the two would be leaving.

"Just a little island off the coast from here. Nothing too big or amazing." Cas forced his smile when he looked at Taylor, still annoyed with the boy. "Hm, maybe we should wait until after his coronation to leave. Just in case there's any trouble."

"Staying here will be very entertaining." Kassandra commented, amused.

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><p>Proton sighed as he sat at the table, rubbing his temples. Nate stood by him while Cas flipped through a book. "She's not that bad." Cas said, looking at Proton. "I like her. Much better than anyone I ever got paired up with."<p>

"Nothing is wrong with her, but, she doesn't act like a princess." He sighed, putting his head on the table. "Oh, lord, the coronation."

"Oh, yeah…" Cas chuckled, smirking.

"Nate, will you please go get Leighton?" Proton asked the girl. She nodded and left the room, going to get her. "Leighton can teach Lyra how to be more…princess like. She's quite horrible at it. I've seen her eat and talk to the maids and run around in shorts and tank tops and I think she lost her crown."

"Relax." Cas patted the Prince's shoulder, trying to make him feel better. "She's an adorable girl. She likes to do things for herself, more girls should be like that."

"You needed me?" Leighton asked, coming into the room with Nate behind her.

"I need you to teach Lyra how to be a princess." Proton requested. "The coronation is in….three days. People from all the kingdoms will be here."

"No worries!" Leighton winked, smiling brightly. "LYRA!" She called out, rushing out of the room.

* * *

><p>Lyra didn't really want to be a princess after spending all day training with Leighton. Ethan cracked jokes the whole time and made it difficult for Lyra to concentrate on the task at hand.<p>

"Lyra, I've only got two weeks to teach you all you need to know." Leighton chided when she saw the girl looking out the window. " How to eat, dress, act, and, let's not forget about how to dance."

"I have to ballroom dance?"

"Were you raised in the jungle?" Leighton questioned. "Honestly, Lyra, you act like you haven't been a princess your whole life." Leighton threw her hands up in the air and walked off, going to see if the table was set so they could go over silverware and table manners.

"You aren't from here, are you?" Jo asked her, startling Lyra. "I can sorta tell….you..you're from…another world."

"How did you know?" Lyra asked in an almost whisper.

"It's the curse." Jo sighed, patting the amethyst necklace she wore. "There's another one, a boy, he's from the same place as you. He's off in battle though. He's a very good strategist, his name is Yuki." Jo explained and Lyra actually felt relieved.

"I'm so glad someone knows.." Lyra patted Jo's shoulder. "I have no clue, at all, how to be a princess, Jo. When I played this game before, I always choose the Knight path, not the princess path."

"I don't know much about…..this…game of our world, but, you might want to try and catch on fast." Jo advised as Leighton returned to them. "Leighton isn't very patient."

"Let's go!" Leighton sang, grabbing both girls' arms and dragging them over to the table. "Jo, you need to brush up on your skills as well." The blue hair girl groaned, but didn't struggle against the Elf princess as they learned the correct way to eat and use the proper silver ware. "Dancing is next…let me go see if I can get the others to join us! Meet me in the ballroom!" Leighton was off again, causing more trouble to the residents of the castle.

Lyra and Jo walked to the ballroom, where a maid was setting up a record player. She set a few records on the table and left the room.

"I dunno about this." Mikhail said as he and Jordan were pushed into the room by Leighton. Cas and Nate followed, along with Taylor and Kassandra. Mikhail looked confused and Jordan just looked annoyed. Lyra learned that those were normal expressions for the two boys, though sometimes Mikhail would be grinning like Ethan grinned, which was nice to see.

"Oh, shush." Leighton rolled her eyes as she went to pick a record from the bunch. "We'll be learning how to ball room dance today. We've got a whole two weeks until coronation of the lovely Prince Proton! It's really not that hard, you just need a good lead." She said as she sat the record onto the player and the music slowly started to drift out.

"Watch this!" Cas grinned and grabbed Mikhail's arm, pulling him out onto the floor.

"W-What?" He asked as Cas put his hand around his waist and pulled him closer.

"C'mon, put your hand on my shoulder, you know how this dance goes." Cas said and Mikhail did what the older male said to. Cas spun him around the room effortlessly, and actually made the dance look like it was fun.

"They are so cute together!" Leighton squealed, but Jordan took her hand and led her to the floor, hoping that dancing would distract her. Jo grabbed Taylor's arm and yanked him onto the floor, watching the others closely so she could learn how to dance as well.

"Ah, looks like they are not enough males in the room." Kassandra stated to Natalie and Lyra, the last three standing by the sidelines. "However, I am not one for ballroom dancing. Too much twirling and spinning."

"Will you be attending the coronation?" Lyra questioned, looking at the black haired woman.

"I shall. Since I am now part of the Prince's court, I am told to attend. I will not dance though." She explained, content with watching the others.

"Nate, ya know how to dance! Take Lyra for a spin! She's a great teacher, she taught me how to dance." Cas called out, before turning back to Mikhail, who looked like he was relaxing a little, but stiffened when Cas pulled him even closer.

Lyra just looked to Nate, who sighed a very deep sigh, before she nodded her head to Lyra and held out her hand. Lyra embarrassingly took the female's hand, though she didn't pull Lyra close like Cas had with Mikhail. "Hand on shoulder." Silver said for Nate as Nate put her hand on Lyra's waist gently. Lyra did as she was told, with on hand on Nate's shoulder and the other in Nate's free hand. "Follow my lead, slowly, do not rush and do not step on my feet." Lyra looked at the ground as she tried to follow Nate's lead. Leighton twirled past and Jo and Taylor were starting to get the hang of it.

"This is hard…" Lyra whined, stepping on Nate's feet every so often. Nate slowed her paced down, hoping this would prevent her feet getting stepped on.

"Relax." Silver said for Nate. "It's not like Cas learned it in a day either. He took two weeks."

"Just swing her around, that's what Cas is doing to Mikhail." Jordan told Nate. "Mikhail can't dance at all."

"I'm trying!" Mikhail shouted, almost tripping, but Cas held him upright and kept moving. Nate picked up her pace, taking Jordan's advice. Lyra found herself finding out what Mikhail felt like and she hoped she didn't trip. She was starting to get the hang of it when someone tapped on her shoulder. Nate released her and bowed to whoever was behind her.

"Your dancing isn't all bad." Proton muttered, turning Lyra to face him as he put his arm around her waist, pulling her in to dance with him. "Lucky for you I'm a good dancer."

"I'm awesome at dancing!" Lyra protested as Proton began to move to the music. She fought to keep up, but she wanted to prove him wrong. "I wouldn't have to do this if you weren't becoming king."

"I'm so sorry about that." He said dryly. "I cannot help it that I'm becoming king. I am 21. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"You're 21?" Lyra questioned, surprised. She was only 18, and he looked to be her age.

"Of course." He told her. "Why? Did you not know? Most of the princes are older than the princesses of other kingdoms. Leighton is 18, Lance is 22, and Cassius is 21. Is that odd?"

"No, it's only three years between you and I." Lyra said, shrugging her shoulders. She felt a little bad, since she had been here for a full week now and still knew nothing about Proton. He usually holed himself away somewhere. "How's my kingdom?"

"It's fine. The forces have been driven off, for now." Proton explained. "There weren't too many the first time, but I'm glad I brought Nate and Cas along to protect the carriage. Still, we are at war. You will need to be extra friendly to the other rulers at the coronation. Just because they are my allies does not mean they are yours. Our kingdoms are not unified just yet."

"What? What a pain!" Lyra groaned, ready to just quit. But, she couldn't! She was going to play this 'game' right this time!

"Lyra, just befriend everyone here. If you do that, trust me, you'll beat this game in no time." Ethan said next to her head, grinning.

She could do that! She just had to play it smart and actually try and listen to Ethan. It meant she'd have to take things slow, but that was fine.

* * *

><p><strong>I had a really bad weekend so far so sorry about the crummy chapter. It was cute and fluffy so yay. One more oc to introduce! (Technically two since I just mentioned the other one). This story will move sorta slow at times!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Guys I spent forever coming up with the floor plan for Proton's castle. You'd think it'd be easy, but it was not. I kept picturing it like a mansion instead of a castle. I'm sorry. Just imagine the place however you want I swear it'll probably be better than how I picture it **

**Btw, since Lyra is on the princess pathway, there won't be much war or battling. There will be some, of course, but not as much as if she was a knight or something like that.**

* * *

><p>"So, how do I make them like me?" Lyra asked Ethan the next morning. She sat on her bed, half dressed and ready to try and play the game 'correctly'.<p>

"Here." Ethan snapped and the walkthrough guide book landed on the bed in front of the brunette girl. She opened it and flipped to the section discussing leveling up friendships and relationships with other characters.

"To befriend characters, it's best to give them gifts, only one a day though. Also, talking to them throughout the day will give you friendship points as well. The more points you get, the closer you get to leveling up. Once you level up their friendship, you will get the chance to see a cut scene. Cut scenes vary with characters and depending on which path you chose, etc. Cut scenes usually involve the player and the character, but can involve the player and multiple characters, or just multiple characters interacting. During cut scenes, the character(s) will sometimes reveal information about themselves, including their past or likes or dislikes." Lyra read out loud.

"Continue." Ethan said and she took another breath.

"Sometimes the player will have to choose what to say or do during cut scenes, which can affect the outcome of the scene. Heart scenes are special scenes you can only view with bachelors or bachelorettes (to view these characters and their descriptions, turn to the section of the path you choose). These scenes are like friendship scenes and play a key role in leveling up the relationship." Lyra finished, and flipped to the Prince/Princess section. "Okay, so, all the characters I have a chance to be with are in this section, right?"

"Yeah, and the characters you run into are in the section as well. Most of yours will still be blank like they were the first time you checked, though." Ethan reminded her as she flipped through the pages.

"Bachelors and Bachelorettes can also end up with other characters, depending on how you play the game." Lyra started to read the intro at the top of the page. "Just go to the menu, select characters, and it will show you what level of friendship you are on and how many points you need to reach the next level. The next few pages will contain the bachelors and bachelorettes for the Prince/Princess path." Lyra finished reading and looked over it. "Ah, so, hm. I'm guessing things will be little different since I'm actually in the game."

"Yeah, sorta different, but it's all basically the same." Ethan shrugged, sitting on her shoulder. "Basically, these people won't show any romantic interest in you unless you show it to them I think."

"Let's see who I can marry." Lyra flipped the page again to the bios and pictures. "Proton, of course, Prince Cassius whom I haven't even met, no picture of him, oh, wow, Taylor is on here too." Lyra murmured, flipping through their empty bios, some didn't even have pictures of them. She hated how this guide prevented spoilers. "Some guy named Morty, Brawly, Marlon…" She listed a few more names of people she didn't know before she got to the bachelorettes. "I can also marry…Lady Natalie, oh, she sounds fancy, wonder what she looks like, I haven't even met her yet either. Hm, some girl named Anna, Misty, Jasmine, and some other girls." She continued to flip through the pages, going to the normal characters she would encounter, but, most of those were blank and she let out a disgruntled groan.

"Lyra, relax. The book will fill in more information every so often. It'll probably give you more information at times than the characters will." Ethan said as Lyra continued to scan the pages.

"At least it marks the characters who have curses. Leighton's, Jordan's, and Mikhail's bios have some information in them, mostly just about the curse." She stopped on Leighton's bio, scanning over it. "Leighton is the princess of the Northern Elvish Kingdom. She was cursed to be bound to the next two people she saw, and those two people happened to be Jordan and Mikhail." She read the short bio out loud. "Not much information, of course."

"You can gather more information from other characters too." Ethan added and she shut the book, tired of seeing empty pages. "Your book is already more filled than it was when you first started. You're making good progress. You're slow as hell, but, whatever." He was swatted off her shoulder as she got up to finish getting dressed.

"You're a terrible guide or whatever the hell you are." Lyra said as she searched through her drawers to find some pants or shorts to wear. This game, world, whatever it was now, was weird. It wasn't medieval. It had modern aspects to it, like indoor plumbing and electricity to some extents, even cameras, but it wasn't like the real world either. It had pokemon, but it also had monsters. Mostly, the pokemon were just companions or pets. Plus, she was allowed to walk around in shorts and tank tops. Proton and Leighton didn't want her to, but, she didn't care.

She decided to be nice to them today and wear her normal blue dress. If she wanted to make friends and try and actual lift the curses, like she was supposed to, she'd had to try and be nice. She left her room with Ethan floating right behind her and made her wear down the hallway.

The castle was not has flashy as Lance's was. The main lobby was normal, to the right of it lead to the ballroom which connected to the dining room. The castle had many hallways, most of which on the first floor had bedrooms for the servants. A hallway connected to the dining room led to the kitchen, and a hallway in the main lobby also connected to the kitchen. A curved staircase in the lobby led up to the doorway of the second floor.

The second floor was mostly centered around a room, which was just a gathering room of sorts. When you entered it, there was a staircase leading down to the kitchen at the far right end. To the right and left were hallways. The hallways ended up connecting, but if you started on the right hallway, there was Lyra, Nate's, Cas' and Proton's bedroom. The hallway then curved, which led to Leighton's, Jordan and Mikhail's, and Kassandra's room. Then another curve, which had Jo and Taylor's rooms. A few more empty rooms were here, then another curve, which sent you right back to the main room of the floor. Proton's study was also on this floor, though he had one on the main floor he also used.

Lyra enjoyed the main room of the floor, because right when you walked in, the windows on the far side of the room, near the stairs to the kitchen, let you see the best view of the ocean.

She headed to the main room, happy to see that a few people were in there. Jordan was reading a rather large book, while Mikhail sat on the floor by him, messing with his arrows. "Good morning, Princess." Mikhail greeted when he saw her come in. She came and sat in another chair near the two males. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you. You can call me Lyra, Mikhail." She reminded him. "What are you doing?"

"Just making sure my arrows are all good. Jordan's seeing if there's a spell to help make them stronger so they won't break." Mikhail explained, glancing towards the black haired male who was deep in thought. "I thought you were heading into the kingdom today with Leighton?"

"I probably am." Lyra mumbled wondering where the elf princess was. "So, do you two stay here a lot?"

"Oh, yeah. We've been here a few times. Leighton's pretty content on staying until you and Proton tie the knot this time." Mikhail said, examining one of his arrows. "I don't mind it, I like seeing different places. I just go wherever Leighton wants to go. I kinda have to."

"The curse." Leighton remembered, chuckling a little. "What a strange curse."

"It is, plus, we have no clue how to even break it. We can't go farther than the curse states, or we get rebounded back." Jordan shook his head.

"It was bad at first, but we've gotten used to Leighton." Mikhail added and Jordan agreed.

"I'll figure out a way to break it." Lyra told them. "It's probably super simple. Do you know how the others are cursed?" She asked, hoping they knew.

"Nope." Mikhail answered. "I didn't realize that Cas was cursed, I just thought he lost his eye. I know that Nate is cursed to not be able to speak, but there might be more to it."

"There's gotta be more to the both of 'em. I know Kassandra's has to do with her being able to predict the future, and I know Jo's, sorta." Lyra told the blond male, who seemed interested.

"Good luck with Nate and Cas." Jordan muttered, turning a page in his book. "Those two are something else."

"If you mean extremely flirty and scary quiet, then yes, they are something else." Mikhail said, flushed as he thought of how he danced with Cas yesterday.

* * *

><p>"The orphanage?" Jo questioned, tagging along with Leighton, Lyra, and Nate as they walked around the kingdom. "That sounds really sad." She mumbled, pushing a strand of her blue hair behind her ear.<p>

"You didn't have to come." Leighton told her.

"Taylor went off to go hunting or whatever." Jo muttered as they walked through the crowd. "I don't mind going to this, I'm an orphan too." She told them. Leighton didn't say anything and continued to guide them through the town. Nate, of course, didn't say anything but patted Jo's shoulder.

"Just read them a few good stories and we can leave." Leighton said as Nate opened the door to the building for them. "We don't have much time, but we can always come back later."

The kids were all extremely happy to see the two princesses and were sad to see them go. Lyra promised to return the following week and spend more time playing with them, which made them feel better, and made Lyra feel good too.

"I wish princesses visited me when I was a kid." Jo said after they left. "You're really going to visit them again next week?"

"Of course I will." Lyra nodded her head as she stepped out onto the street. There was a scream and Nate was in front of Lyra in a flash, her sword drawn to protect the princesses and Jo if need be.

"Thief!" Someone cried out and Lyra could make out a hooded figure running towards them.

"Lyra, get her! She's important, you need to help her!" Ethan urged her. "She's cursed, she needs you!"

"Uh, Nate, I want that thief!" Lyra said, trying to sound confident. Nate turned to her, but sighed, and snatched the thief's cape and yanked it back, getting a firm hold on her.

"Lemme go! I was returning it, I swear!" The hood fell off to reveal a terrified looking pale girl, with pointy ears, obviously an elf. She had wide blue eyes that stood out against her long wavy black hair that was up in a high ponytail. "Oh, god, an assassin, I knew this day would come." She cried, looking at Nate like she was the grim reaper coming to take her soul. It was a little funny, because the elf was much taller than Nate, probably a full 6 inches taller than Nate actually.

"There she is!" a man pushed through the crowd and Nate turned to him, pushing the pale elf behind her with Lyra and the others. "Let me through!"

"She belongs to the highness now." Silver said for Nate, who stood like a stone wall. She drew a pokeball off of her belt, ready to fight over the thief. "Unless you wish to upset your future queen and get yourself hurt, please return to your previous activities." The man looked like he was ready to argue, so Nate released the pokemon. A large arcanine appeared and the man turned around and ran. "Good boy." She said as the pokemon transformed into a Zoroark. It emitted a happy sounding purr before disappearing back inside its pokeball.

"T-The future queen?!" The girl exclaimed, turning to face Lyra. "T-Thank you!" She bowed repeatedly, nervous. "I-I promise, I was returning what I took. I never keep things I take, I just like to examine them for a few hours!"

"It's fine, really." Lyra said, hoping to get the girl to calm down. The girl was wearing baggy pants with a dark blue bikini top on, something she didn't normally see people dressed in every day. "What's your name?"

"Anna!" She answered, then took a deep breath.

"Well, Anna. You seem like a sweet girl that just has a nasty curse." Lyra smiled, looking to Ethan for a second as he smirked. "Jo, can you go and tell Proton that I'm bringing someone else home?"

"You are? Okay!" Jo hurried off, happy to help Lyra.

"Are you serious?" Leighton asked Lyra, worried about Lyra's choices.

"Yes!"

* * *

><p>"Wow…" Anna mumbled as they walked into the castle. She spun around, staring up at the ceiling. "Thank you, so much!" She told Lyra, once again. She dug in her pockets and pulled out a cross necklace. It was silver and had tiny yellow gems on it. "This is for you! Promise I didn't steal it."<p>

"Oh, wow, thank you." Lyra put it on and touched it happily. She was surprised she hadn't seen more crosses around Proton's castle, they were all over Lance's castle.

"Thanks for letting me know 30 minutes in advance you were bringing another one home." Proton muttered, coming down the stairs with an annoyed expression that he always seemed to wear. "I'm fine with you building your own court up, just give me more time next time around, got it?"

"Fine fine." Lyra waved it off and led Anna up the stairs to show her where she would be staying. Leighton and Nate followed her. "My court?" She questioned, looking to Leighton for an explanation.

"Your court is your group of people, your crew, posse, you know? Elves do not have those, but, Proton's court is Jordan as his mage, Kassandra now too as his witch, he has Cas as his knight, Yuki as his stagiest, and a few others." Leighton explained. "So far, you have Nate here as your knight, since Proton gave her to you."

"He gave her to me?" Lyra asked as they walked down the hallway. She stopped in front of a door and opened it, deciding the room would be perfect for Anna, and let her in to explore it.

"She was one of his knights, but now her job is to protect you, making her the first member of your court. I suggest getting Jo and Taylor to be part of it, and, might as well get Anna in there. She looks like she's fast and can fight, some. Mikhail would be a good addition to your court, just remember the curse won't allow him to always be there."

"Hm." Lyra mumbled, thinking. "I'll think about it. Now, Anna, I'm trying to break everyone's curses here. It would help if you told me yours."

"I'm cursed to steal." She admitted, sheepishly. "I always, always return what I steal though, I promise." She told the trio of women.

"Alright, I believe you." Lyra smiled happily when Ethan nodded his head, telling Lyra that Anna was being truthful. "I'll let you settle in. The kitchen is downstairs. Everyone here is friendly." Lyra told her before leaving her to her own devices. Nate followed Lyra and Leighton as they headed back to the common room. "Nate, you're okay with being my knight, right?" Lyra asked the girl, who just nodded her hooded head. "Good, because you are scary and can really help me out."

"I try." Silver smirked and Lyra guessed Nate was smirking, if she even could move her mouth, under the hood.

"I'll ask Jo and Taylor to join my court too. It'll be small, but, as long as I got some people to back me up, I'll be fine." Lyra told the two who agreed. "Do you think Proton is mad at me?"

"I doubt, he's just a sourpuss." Leighton said, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a simple flick of her wrist.

* * *

><p>It was late that night when there was a bang down in the lobby. Lyra jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway, where Proton was brushing by her in his boxers and shirt with his crobat on his shoulder. Cas came out of his room in his boxers, and a maid poked her head out of his door, holding sheets against her. Cas told her to stay where she was, and walked down the hall. Nate came out of her room with her hood on with pjs, carrying her sword.<p>

She followed Cas, then got in front of him and Lyra to protect them. They all made it to the common room where Jo, Mikhail, Jordan, Leighton, Taylor, and Anna were all there. Leighton looked pissed, mumbling something about needing her beauty sleep, and Mikhail was half asleep, rubbing his messy hair into place. Anna stood next to Nate, and Lyra realized that Anna was taller than Nate by more than just 6 inches. Probably 8 inches. Now that she really looked, everyone was almost taller than Nate, except for maybe Leighton and Jo, who seemed to be around her height. Proton was tallest, along with Cassius and Taylor, but Jordan and Anna were just about the same height.

Proton opened the door that led to the stairs. Nate and Taylor got in front of the group to protect them as they all descended the stairs.

"I'm sorry to wake you all." A voice said in the darkness. A servant flipped on the lights, and there in the middle of the floor, was a boy with black messy hair. He was getting off the ground after tripping on the large rug. He slowly stood up, adjusting his black scarf. He dusted off his long sleeved blue shirt and dark blue pants before standing up straight. He looked young, with a pale face and red eyes. He brushed his bangs out of his face, but they just fell right back into place.

"Its fine, Yuki. Are you okay?" Proton asked, stepping toward the smaller boy.

"Ah, yeah, I just couldn't see where I was going." He explained, embarrassed. "I came in later than I thought I was going to."

"I was wondering when you'd get back, but, it's late now. We can talk tomorrow. Let's go back to bed." Proton trudged back up the stairs and they all followed. Yuki followed Leighton and the others to their hallway, so Lyra guessed his room was over there.

"Is it possible for you to not sleep with my entire staff?" Proton asked Cas when he saw the maid waiting by Cas' bedroom door with the sheets covering her.

"I can try, but, you know what will happen if I don't." Cas smirked, shrugging at Proton. Nate rolled her eyes and went into her bedroom, shutting the door, but Lyra left her door cracked to hear the rest of their conversation.

"You don't have to sleep with them." Proton said, more quietly now so the maid wouldn't hear.

"But it tastes better that way." Cas replied, chuckling. "I'll try to cut back though, just for you. Besides, I'm sort of running out now…"

"Lovely." Proton said and Lyra heard both of their doors click shut.

* * *

><p>"This is Yuki, by the way." Leighton introduced Lyra to the boy, who bowed quickly. "Like I said before, he's a strategist on Proton's court. He's usually off at battle. He's the one that makes sure Proton's men don't get in too much trouble."<p>

"It's nice to meet you, Yuki, you can just call me Lyra." Lyra shook his hand, trying to help him relax. She remembered what Jo had told her earlier about him. He was from her world, which was why there was no character by his name in her walkthrough guide.

"It's nice to meet you too, Lyra." He smiled before he excused himself, going to speak with Proton about war or whatever, it didn't interest either of the girls at the moment.

"So, for today, we have so much planned." Leighton started, but Lyra stopped her, rubbing her stomach.

"I need to eat, first." Lyra grumbled, making her way to the stairs in the common room, which led to the kitchen. Leighton sighed, but followed her, asking Lyra why she just didn't get breakfast in bed like she had earlier.

The kitchen was huge, of course. Lyra hadn't gotten much time to actually see it. She usually just went to the dining room, which was off the kitchen, and someone brought her food. It was much easier just to go to the kitchen now and get whatever they had left over from breakfast. Toast and eggs were all that was left, but Lyra didn't complain. She piled her plate up, much to Leighton's detest, and went into the dining room.

Jo was there, eating some berries while reading over a book. She looked up and put the book away once she saw it was Lyra. She patted to the chair next to her eagerly, and Lyra sat down. "Good morning!" Jo chirped.

"You sure are peppy this morning." Leighton commented, sitting next to Jordan, who was also reading a book.

"Bright eyed and bushy tailed is how you all should be in the mornin'!" Cas' voice boomed as he entered the room, biting into an apple. "You're all teenagers, brighten up."

"It's not like you're 50." Jordan said dryly, which is usually how he always spoke, Lyra learned.

"Yeah, well, I'm 21, which is the best age because it's where all the fun is." Cas shrugged as he passed behind Lyra and Jo. "But still, I'm older than you and I still seem to have more joy for life."

"That's easy to fake." Taylor said, coming into the room with his food. Cas froze and turned to look at Taylor, his eyes narrowing and his smile becoming a scowl. "You would know, wouldn't you?" He asked as he sat across from Jo. Jo looked at Taylor, embarrassed and also a tad worried.

Cas opened his mouth to say something, but closed it once he remembered there were others in the room with them. He took a bite of his apple with more force than necessary and chewed it, trying to come up with something to say. "We'll continue this later." He said, deciding it was the best thing to say at the moment, and continued walking to the door at the other end of the room.

"Why the hell do you have to go and do stuff like that Tay?" Jo whined once Cas was gone.

"I'm not scared of him." Taylor shook his head, and started to eat his food. "Who cares if he's pissed at me?"

"I do." Jo sighed, losing her appetite now.

"Anyway, so, how about you two joining my court?" Lyra asked, trying to break the tension. "I was just informed that I sort of need to have one, and I figured you two would be great additions to it!" She looked to Taylor than back to Jo, was looked to be over the moon about the offer.

"Really? Oh my arcues!" She exclaimed. "Yes! Of course we'll be part of your court! Oh, wow, this is so exciting." She continued and smiled at Taylor, who looked amused at his friend's excitement.

"Good!" Lyra said, starting to chow down on her breakfast. Leighton tried to get her to eat it properly, but gave up halfway through, deciding her time was better spent talking to Jordan.

"The tension in the air here is a bit scary." Kassandra said, coming into the room. Her misdreavous floated around her head, much like it did all the time. "Oh, Taylor, you are causing this tension, aren't you?" She asked, a small cackle at the end of the sentence. She frightened Lyra a bit, even though Lyra knew she wasn't going to hurt her.

"I'm just stating the truth." He told her as she passed by behind him, on her way to the door that led to the kitchen.

"Your truth is more like taunting than anything else." Kassandra muttered, taping him on the head gently. "I can see multiple outcomes of this behavior, some good, and some bad. If you cause him to lose his temper too soon, the outcomes are nothing but bad." She advised, but Taylor didn't seem to listen. Kassandra didn't seem too surprised by this and continued on her way to the kitchen.

"You should listen to her, you know." Leighton told him after she left. "She's right! I mean, I don't fully understand what she was saying, but she knows what she's talking about."

"I doubt it, she's crazy." Taylor murmured, rolling his eyes.

"Your fault, not mine." Leighton stood, flatting out the wrinkles in her dress. "Lyra, let's go."

"I'll come too!" Jo offered, standing. She grabbed her book and followed the two princesses as they went through the door Cas had. "What?" Jo questioned as they walked down the hallway. Every so often, there were claw marks along the walls. Lyra didn't remember seeing those every before. "Someone's pokemon must have done these." Jo said, coming up with a plausible explanation, though Lyra wasn't too sure if it was correct.

"Probably." Leighton replied, not looking to into it. "They'll have in fixed before the coronation, that's all that matters. Speaking of the coronation, it is not very far off now!" Leighton exclaimed. Lyra wasn't too sure when it actually was, she had trouble keeping up with days when she was in this world. "You, and now you, since you are part of the coronation and will be attending it, need to learn how to behave around other people of high social class." She told Jo and Lyra. "Oh, great, I have to teach Taylor all about this as well!" She groaned, thinking off the work she had cut out for her.

"That will take a lot of work." Jo muttered as they kept walking.

"I know, but, we can do it." Leighton said, positive about her skills. "Lyra, you need to make friends with everyone!"

"Who is everyone?" Lyra questioned and Leighton groaned. "Okay, time for a crash course.."

* * *

><p>The crash course was being held in the common room. Kassandra, Mikhail, Jordan, Jo, Anna Taylor, and Lyra were there, sitting on the chairs and floors, while Leighton stood in front of them with a large board behind her that had a map and pictures pinned to it. "This course is mostly for Lyra, but, I figured all of you might need a little brushing up on these things." Leighton announced. "Now, Lyra, kings, queens, ladies, dukes, all of them will be at this event."<p>

"I'm supposed to memorize all of them?" Lyra asked, wishing she had a pen and paper so she could take notes.

"Not all of them. Just the ones I deem important enough. You also need to know how to act around the different people. Elves, angels, and demons are behave different. I doubt you really will have many of those at this event. Besides, demons are considered more as monsters than human beings." Leighton told her, making her feel a little bit better. "First off, we have Prince Proton, you know him of course." She pointed to the map of where Proton's kingdom was. A picture of him was posted on the board, along with a picture of Lyra. "You both are, even though you are technically a future ruler of his kingdom and he is a future ruler of yours, in control of these two kingdoms, yours and his." She pointed to Lyra's kingdom's place on the map, which had a picture of the both of them again.

"Simple enough." Mikhail said, holding his charmander in his arms.

"Now, to the north, is my kingdom, though that is not important because you already know me. To the east, we have Olivine Kingdom. Princess Jasmine will be attending this event with Sir Volkner, her knight." She pointed to a picture of a girl with brunette hair that was fashioned in weird pigtails, along with a male with spikey blond hair and a bored expression. "Princess Jasmine is very sweet. She is tough, despite her gentle and sweet appearance. Befriend her at all costs."

"Okay, I can do that." Lyra said and Leighton turned back to the map.

"Here is Covers Island." She pointed to an island that was off the coast of Proton's kingdom. "The king and the queen will be attending this event." She pointed to a man and a woman. The two looked familiar, with bright eyes and smiles. "This picture does not do them justice, trust me. People of Covers Island have this air about them….they are all beautiful, no matter if they are large, small, have big noses, whatever! They all have the air, every single one of them."

"I bet it's their tan." Taylor said and was hit by Jo. Anna laughed a little, but shut up when a few of the others looked at her.

"Anyway, Prince Cassius is their son, and Proton's good friend I believe. He's egotistical to boot though." She muttered. "I was arranged to marry him, but he backed out and offered alliance to my kingdom anyway. I don't have a picture of him, Proton wouldn't give me one. There is also Lady Natalie, who is Cassius' knight. I don't have her picture either. I'm unsure if Lady Natalie and Prince Cassius will attend. They are off traveling, somewhere. That Prince is never at home. If you're lucky, he won't attend and you can just befriend his parents."

"Harsh." Mikhail muttered at what Leighton said about the Prince.

"It's all true, I mean, I've never met the guy or anything, but everyone says that about him." Leighton replied. "Next up is Lance's kingdom, Dragon Nest. They are skilled dragon tamers and are fierce. Along with Prince Lance, there is Lady Clair, his cousin." She pointed to a picture of the red-headed prince and his blue haired cousin. Clair looked scary, while Lance had a more gentle expression. Lyra almost sighed, remembering how she spent all day earning his affection and how they dated and kissed and got married. Ethan pinched her ear, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"We have Prince Falkner in Violet Kingdom to the West of us. He's pretty alright, I never meet him before." She pointed to a picture of a blue haired boy who had a pidgeot on his shoulder. "North of here is the kingdom of Pemberly with their king, king Grimsley. He's nice, but, he has a gambling problem or something…" A picture of a black haired male smirking was on the board. "For right now, these are the only ones you need to know. I'm sure things will change by coronation. That horrible Prince Cassius might end up coming."

"Harshhhhhhhhhh." Cas sighed, sliding into the room and brushing past the group, winking at a maid as he did so. "How bad could the guy be?"

"He probably acts just like you." Taylor grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Then he's probably a dreamboat." Cas replied with a cheeky grin.

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><p><strong>That chapter was sooo long! The next one will be tons of fun. <strong>

**I forgot if I have mentioned this before, but theres a link on my profile to my photobucket that has pictures of some of the characters, if you want to see what they look like. Not all are on there, it just depends on if the creator of the oc sent me a picture or not. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I love Lance, just so you all know. But you know how sometimes you play a game, and a character is mean and an asshole? But then you play through it again and actually befriend them and they aren't so bad? Yeah, this happens here, sorta.**

**Okay, I dunno if any of you guys play Rune Factory (more specifically, Tides of Destiny) but I'm stealing a few ideas from that.**

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><p>"Ow!" Lyra exclaimed as Leighton pulled the corset tighter on her. "What the hell?"<p>

"Look, the last thing I need is you messing up at the coronation tomorrow evening. I'm getting you dressed in the gown you'll be wearing tomorrow and we're going to go through a dress rehearsal." The Elf princess explained as Jo and Anna sat on Lyra's bed, both pretty content.

"You guys are in my court, you are supposed to assist me." Lyra told them, but both girls just laughed. She sighed, but couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see that Anna was finally opening up around the others, instead of being shy and quiet. She seemed to like Jo the most, but that wasn't that surprising. Jo probably knew everything about everyone, thanks to her curse. It most likely gave her an advantage with people. "So, uh, demons and angels, huh?" Lyra questioned Leighton, curious.

When she played the game the first few times, she didn't encounter too many creatures like that. Ones that were like humans, that is. She talked to an angel, once, and had a boss battle with a demon that she would rather forget because it was hard as crap and he was a scary demon. She didn't, however, really know how they acted.

"Hm, I dunno too much about them." Leighton replied, shrugging as she dug through Lyra's closest, trying to find the dress she had picked out earlier. "I just know that demons and angels can vary. Angels can cure while demons will suck your soul out of your body."

"Oh…wow…" Lyra mumbled, furrowing her brows.

"Not saying all demons are bad, but they probably are." Leighton bit her lip, annoyed at how she was having trouble finding the dress.

"Demons really do vary." Anna spoke up. "I read a book about them once. Some don't eat souls, some need souls to survive, and some do it just for fun. Mostly the soul is pulled out through your mouth. If the demon is close enough, the soul will come outta your mouth and straight into theirs. Some suck it out with a kiss though." She explained and Jo made a disgusted face. "Demons can sometimes hide their horns and tails, so they look human. Angels usually look human most of the time. They really don't have wings that much anymore. They also are great healers and can cure almost anything with a single touch."

"Psh, we need an angel in this castle then." Jo muttered, crossing her arms. "What about vampires and werewolves?"

"What?" Lyra asked, never hearing of those creatures being in the game.

"Yeah, those suckers and biters are sneaky lil' bastards." Anna smiled, obviously knowing a thing or two about them. "Vampires look just like us, and all that crap about sunlight and stuff like that is not true. Werewolves are a little different, you can tell they're werewolves. Werewolves are usually pretty chill people, they act like houndooms and poocyhenas. I want a werewolf for a pet."

"They are humans, slightly, right?" Lyra questioned. "So, I don't think you can keep one as a pet…"

"That's depressing." Anna sighed, pushing some of her black bangs out of her face. "I've always wanted to meet a demon…or an angel…or a vampire….definitely a werewolf."

"Be careful." Kassandra appeared at the doorway. Lyra jumped, already worked up by talk of the monsters. "Relax, Lyra." Kassandra laughed, her violet eyes looked highly amused at how startled Lyra was by her. "Those creatures are closer than you think they are."

"What?" Lyra looked terrified now. "My blood or soul will be drained from my body!" She exclaimed.

"Relax, they won't hurt you." Jo told her. "Nate and Cas will protect you. They are Proton's knights and you are Proton's fiancé."

"Don't rely too heavily on them. They each have their own curse to bear." Kassandra advised, and Lyra, while she didn't completely believe Kassandra, knew that she should at least listen, and consider what the woman said. "In my 25 years of living, I've never been somewhere with so many cursed people, with so many different curses."

"Do you know what their curses are?" Lyra asked, looking to Kassandra. The woman shrugged, glanced at Jo, then back to Lyra.

"Sorry, but I do not know the full extent of their curses." Kassandra said as Proton called for her down the hall. "I shall see you all later." She said, nodding before she hurried off.

"Jo…" Lyra mumbled, looking to the blue haired girl, who nervously looked around the room. "You know, don't you?"

"Well, sort of, not exactly, actually, yes, all of it, but, I don't think it's right to be telling everyone about someone's private life you know?" She rambled. "But we should all be careful, you know."

"Is there a werewolf here?" Anna asked, excited. "Dude…"

"We did see claw marks in the hallway the other day." Lyra said, looking to the girls. "What if Cas is a werewolf?"

"Werewolf? Yeah right." Jo shook her head, so Lyra knew he wasn't a werewolf.

"I'm going to see if there's a dress for you in my closet!" Leighton exclaimed, annoyed. Anna jumped up to help her, and the two left quickly.

"What is he?" Lyra asked Jo, serious.

"I-I can't just say, Lyra. My curse isn't some amazing curse. It's really bad, and I can't control it well, but I can't just go around spilling the beans on everyone's private life." Jo told her, pushing her blue bangs out of her face.

Lyra was a little frustrated at this point. She had been super nice to everyone and gave them presents sometimes, but still, no one was budging. She was beginning to think she was trying too hard, so she decided to let up on it, and just act more normal about it. She wanted out of this game as soon as possible.

"Found it! The maid must have put it in my closet by mistakes." Leighton came back in with the dress and Anna took her place on the bed again. The dress was dark blue with swirls of gold all over it. "I'll have to tell her that she made a mistake." Leighton said as she tried to get Lyra into the dress.

"She looked a little pale when I saw her earlier." Anna voiced as Lyra was engulfed by the dress. "I think the other maids told her to take the day off."

"Hm, maybe she's just feeling under the weather then?" Leighton murmured, helping Lyra push her arms through the sleeves. "Now you are just being silly." She told Lyra and adjusted the dress on the girl. "There, you look so good!" She chimed and Lyra sighed at the dress, but did have to admit that she thought she looked pretty good. "I like how your hair is down and wavy, with your bangs pushed back, so I think that's how we'll have your hair tomorrow night. Jo, Anna, go put on your dresses so we can do the dress rehearsal."

Jo looked excited, Anna looked annoyed, but both went off to go and change.

"Wasn't that maid with Cas last night?" Lyra questioned Leighton, who just shrugged and pulled Lyra out of the room and down the stairs.

"This will all be taking place in the ballroom. You will stand off to the side here." Leighton guided her to the end of the ballroom. "Proton will be crowned the new king, people will cheer, and thus the party begins. You are expected to dance with Proton of course." Lyra wasn't too sure about all of this now.

"What happened to his parents?" Lyra asked, confused.

"Not sure." Leighton muttered as she fixed Lyra's dress again. "Now, Lyra, you got to make friends at this event. You need allies. Politically, I am not your friend." She reminded the other brunette girl, who just groaned. She really wanted to wake up in her world again!

* * *

><p>"I hate wearing dresses." Anna scoffed the next day. The whole castle was in a frenzy trying to get things ready before the guests began to arrive.<p>

"You look beautiful." Cas said with a hood that matched Nate's over his head. Jo twirled in her green dress and Taylor and Jordan just looked like they were trying to restrain themselves from killing everyone. Mikhail and Yuki looked out of place, much like Anna, and Kassandra was owning her dark purple dress like a queen.

"Why are you wearing a hood now?" Anna asked Cas, who chuckled. Lyra was wondering the same thing.

"To match Nate, of course. It'd look weird if she was the only one who wore a hood. Now it looks like the future king and queen have cool knights." He explained as Nate stood beside him. "We'll see you guys down there. Be careful not to fall." He said before he and Nate went downstairs.

"I want to wear a hood." Anna mumbled, not comfortable in the dress.

"This is only for a few hours, so suck it up." Leighton strode into the room with grace. "You four are of Lyra's court now." She said to Mikhail, Taylor, Jo, and Anna. "You are the people the future queen has chosen as advisors. I'm not worried about Nate, or you either Mikhail, but you three…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Just do not stuff your face with food, be impolite, or steal." She said, looking to Anna for the last thing.

"I can't help it."

"You will tonight." Leighton threatened as she heard music began to play. "Oh! Some of the guests must be arriving! Let's head downstairs." She ushered the group down the stairs and into the ballroom. The large room was decorated now, with many tables of food and drink around the room.

They all stood in a group, not knowing what else to do. It was too earlier to go stand in her spot for the coronation, but she couldn't go get food just yet. Guests began to enter the room and Nate stood next to Lyra, who was freaking out. "Oh, man, I don't remember who all these people are." Ethan muttered, completely useless now.

"Relax." Silver's voice said for Nate, and the little red fairy was floating close to Lyra now. "They're going to come and greet you. Just curtsy and tell them it's lovely to meet them."

"I don't know them though." Lyra said as a couple walked towards her.

"Duchess and Duke of Littleroot." Silver told her. Lyra curtsied and smiled brightly, greeting the couple, who seemed impressed she knew them. "Lady Wionna with Sir Wallace. Sir Green of Viridian, Duchess of Cerulean…" Silver listed for Nate as more and more guests arrived.

"How does she know so many?" Mikhail asked, rubbing his temples. He could barely remember the few Leighton told them to remember!

"Oh, jeez, look at all the shiny jewelry.." Anna grumbled.

"Not now." Leighton told her. "It's time for the coronation, so get to your places." She ordered. Lyra went and stood at her spot, with Nate and the others near her. Proton came out of one of the side doors of the ballroom. He actually looked attractive, with his hair styled back and dressed in gold, with swirls of dark blue, the opposite of Lyra's dress. Cas and the rest of Proton's court stood off to the side as Proton stood in front of man who began to read out of a book.

Lyra zoned out through most of it, because it was pretty boring, but tuned back in as the crown was placed on Proton's head and the crowd clapped and cheered. He looked embarrassed and glanced towards Lyra. She wasn't sure what to do, so she smiled at him, and he smiled a small smile in return before looking back to the crowd.

"That was lovely." Leighton smiled as the coronation ended and the party resumed. Proton was saying something to Cas, who patted his back and laughed.

"Pardon me, but you are Princess Lyra, right?" A young woman with brunette hair in two oddly fashioned pigtails, and the rest down, asked. Lyra recognized her as Princess Jasmine, and curtsied. Jasmine did the same, and smiled. "It's so lovely to meet you. This is my knight, Volkner." She introduced the spiky haired blond male, who bowed.

"It's nice to meet the both of you." Lyra replied. "This is Nate, my knight. I would introduce you to the rest of my court, but they have disappeared." Lyra looked around for the rest of her court.

"I'm sure they're off having fun. It is nice to meet you Nate." Jasmine said and Nate curtsied, staying quiet. "Proton looked so nice up there. He will surely make a great king." Jasmine began. "Are you excited about getting married? It isn't too far away now, is it?"

"Ah, just a few months." Lyra told her, wondering how she was going to last in the video game for this long.

"Remember, seasons are shorter in this game. You only have three months until the wedding, actually." Ethan explained and Lyra wish he had kept his mouth shut.

"You two will be great rulers. I'm surprised that Prince Cassius did not show up, the two are best friends. I'm glad to see that his parents did get here safely though." She said, looking towards two tan figures, who Lyra recognized as the Queen and King of Covers Island. The two were even prettier in person. "We will have to go visit them soon. I know you wish to see Lady Natalie again." Jasmine smirked at her knight, who looked away, embarrassed.

"She's terrifyingly strong. I admire her. That's all." Volkner explained.

"He's had a crush on her since Cassius and Natalie came to visit my kingdom after a flood a year ago." Jasmine explained. "Oh, but I must be hogging you from your other guests, I'm sorry." Jasmine apologized, but Lyra didn't really see the big deal. She liked Jasmine, she was very sweet.

"I enjoy talking to you, Jasmine, so don't worry about it." Lyra told the other princess, who seemed relieved to hear that.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Prince Lance said as he approached them. "But I would like to ask Princess Lyra here for a dance." He continued and bowed. Jasmine stepped back, smiling, and said goodbye to the both of them, leaving with Volkner by her side. Nate backed off as well, though Lyra could tell she was a tad annoyed, most likely at Lance. "You look very beautiful this evening, princess." Lance said, taking her hand and guiding her to the dance floor.

"Oh, thank you." She smiled, following his lead as they begin to dance. She was extremely happy to be dancing with Lance!

"I see that Prince Cassius is not here." He commented. "Did Proton say anything about him? They are close friends."

"No, he did not say anything. I actually didn't know they were good friends until Princess Jasmine mentioned it to me." Lyra replied.

"Proton does seem to have the knack for befriending the worst." Lance muttered. "His court is a rag tag bunch of cursed misfits. I see he's added to his collection." Lance looked to Kassandra, who was talking to a black haired male Lyra recognized as King Grimsley. Lyra was taken aback by Lance's comment, since he was also so sweet when she played the game before as his knight. She caught Proton's eye and he looked annoyed that she was dancing with Lance. She looked at him a moment longer and he began to take long strides towards them.

"Excuse me." Proton said, coming up behind Lance. "But I'll have to steal my fiancé away." Lance didn't object, and nodded his head to them both before going to look for a new dance partner. "He grinds my nerves." Proton muttered, taking Lyra's hand and pulling her close to him as the next song started.

"He was saying some pretty snide comments." Lyra agreed, looking up at Proton. "So, how does it feel to be king?"

"Absolutely normal." He answered shortly. They dance in silence for the rest of the song, but Lyra decided to try and strike up a conversation at the start of the next song.

"So, uh, where are your parents?" She asked and he looked surprised by the question.

"Don't you already know?" He asked her. She shook her head no. "My mother died when I was younger. After that, my dad wasn't the same. He ran off a few years ago, when I was fourteen." Proton explained. "It's law that you have to be twenty one before you can become king or queen of this kingdom, unless you are crowned by marriage."

"That's stupid." Lyra declared and Proton had to agree.

"I know. I've basically been ruling since I was fourteen. My uncle took the crown as a 'substitute' king until I was of age." Proton continued as they danced. "I thought you knew that? Everyone seems to."

"My parents taught me that it's rude to gossip." Lyra told him with a head nod.

"They forgot to teach you how to act like a princess, but at least they taught you that gossiping is rude." He said sarcastically.

"Eh, at least I'm friendly and social. You sulk around the castle all day." Lyra shot back.

"Looks like they are getting along." Anna commented to Nate, who stood by watching. "Awah, look how excited she's getting."

"I think they're arguing." Silver said to both girls. Nate nodded her head in agreement. Kassandra joined them after Grimsley was pulled away from her by a Duke or a Count, she didn't pay much attention to who they were.

"Hey, you okay?" Anna asked Kassandra, who looked a little pale.

"I just have a bad feeling something is going to happen…." She muttered just a loud bang echoed around the room. The wall on the far side, towards the front of the room had a huge hole in it and three orbs floated off the ground. There were bright, like light was shining out of them.

"M-Monsters!" Someone shouted as monsters appeared from the orbs. Proton pulled Lyra behind him in a protective manner before Nate got in front of him to protect them. The doors leaving the room suddenly had a blue see through wall in front of them, making it impossible to escape.

"Those barriers won't go away until we defeat all the orbs!" Yuki shouted above the panic. "Kassandra, Anna, Mikhail, go round the guests up and keep them in the corner. Nate, Cas, Taylor, fight off these monsters! Jo and Jordan, try to patch up the wall so whatever caused this to happen won't slip back in. I'm going to try and get rid of the orbs."

Lyra was surprised how well everyone listened to the boy's orders without arguing. Jordan and Jo rushed to the front of the room, by the hole, to start patching it up with magic, while Kassandra, Anna, and Mikhail pushed everyone back.

"You two get back as well." Silver said for Nate, as she turned to look at Proton and Lyra. Volkner and a few other knights joined them to fight the monsters, which were trolls and orcs and other horrible creatures. Proton stepped back, joining the large group with Lyra still behind him.

"This is horrible!" Leighton exclaimed as Cas' lucario shot off an aura sphere.

"I dunno, it's sorta exciting." Mikhail used his charmander's tail to set one of his arrows on fire, then shot it at a monster. It hit, and the monster fell back, turning completely black before becoming a small bright sphere that floated up to the ceiling and disappeared.

"Do not set fire to my castle." Proton told Mikhail as Kassandra stabbed a monster with her dagger.

"I cannot fight in this dress!" Anna whined, having difficulty moving. "I need to use my sweet moves to take these beasts out." Lyra almost chuckled at this, but all of a sudden a large troll was running towards the group. Proton looked ready to fight it with one of his pokemon, but Nate dashed in front of the group and slayed it, sending it back to wherever it came from.

Yuki was working quickly to destroy the orbs. His dual swords made it easy and he was able to get rid of all three of them swiftly. Jo and Jordan patched up the wall, reinforcing it with extra magic to make sure that something like that would never happen again.

"That was enjoyable." Taylor said as he killed the last monster.

"What happened?" Lyra asked as everyone looked around. Proton shrugged, but turned towards his guests.

"I'm very sorry for what happened this evening. It's probably best if you all head back to the safety of your homes and kingdoms. Thank you for coming." He announced and they all hurried through the doors to the lobby, rushing to leave. "The maids won't be too happen to have to clean this up."

"What the hell caused this?!" Leighton asked, demanding an answer.

"I think it was a witch monster. Some monsters can summon those orbs, which are like gateways for other monsters to get through. Taylor killed the witch monster, so we won't have to worry about it again." Jordan explained, walking over to the group. "That was still very strange. I'll have to investigate it tomorrow."

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><p>It was much later that night and Lyra laid in her large bed, unable to sleep. She groaned and swung her feet off the bed. She grabbed her robe and put it around her before she left the room. She headed down the hallway to Proton's room. She heard giggling as she passed by Cas' room, and she rolled her eyes. The man couldn't sleep alone, could he?<p>

She knocked on Proton's door, and cracked it open. "Proton?" She asked.

"Hm? Come on in." She heard him say, so she came into the room and shut the door behind her. "Can't sleep?"

"Not at all." She grumbled and walked over to the bed. She kept thinking the walls in her room would be blown out and monsters would be everywhere.

"Want to sleep here tonight?" Proton asked, his hair messy and his face tired. Lyra took off her robe, letting it fall to the floor and got under the comforter. "Good night, Lyra."

"Night Proton." Lyra sighed, closing her eyes and feeling much better with Proton next to her.

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><p><strong>Look, action and politics. Yeah. :3 Please review~! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Time for some Protonnnnn~!**

**Genderbent Elsa is pretty handsome.**

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><p>Proton was staring at the ceiling, annoyed, with half of Lyra's body on top of him, entrapping him.<p>

"Morning." Lyra greeted, smiling at him, before rolling over to her empty side of the bed and falling back asleep. Proton just looked at her as she grumbled something before she buried her face into her pillow. Proton got up, deciding to carry on with his morning routine and shoo'd the maids away so Lyra could continue sleeping.

He was planning on waking her up himself, but, he found it best to just let her be, she did have a rough night last night. He brushed his hair back out of his face and changed into his normal clothes, trying to be quiet. The maids giggled to each other as he walked down the hallway and he ignored them.

He was sure he had many letters waiting for him in his study from all the guests last night. He really despised formal gatherings like the one last night. It had gone horribly, because of those monsters, and he was sure he had work cut out for him this morning.

"Good morning." Kassandra greeting him when he grabbed an apple from the kitchen. He hated to sit down and eat in the dining room. It was boring and slow and he had other things to take care of.

"You know, it would've been great to have had a head ups about that little mishap last night." Proton said to her, and bit down into his apple.

"It just didn't come to me in time." She replied, knowing he would be annoyed with her about it.

"Try to make it come faster then, next time. I'll have to spend the whole day returning letters to the guests apologizing for this. How annoying." He grumbled and left the woman to go to his study.

It was starting to get around the time that everyone woke up, so he headed upstairs to his study. He really didn't understand why he had two studies. The one on the main floor was his father's old study. Proton used it for meetings mostly.

His study was the one upstairs. He opened the door to it and shut the door behind him, finishing up his apple and throwing it into the trash. He had stacks of papers and letters on his desks, just about all of them concerning the incident last night.

He really hated how fast letters and things were able to travel. One magic spell put on a pidgy could get your letter where it needed to go in no time flat.

Annoying.

He started to reply to the letters at once because he knew that he had to get it over with. Being king was no different than being prince, well, it him it wasn't. He was doing the same things he did when he was prince.

After he finished the letters, he needed to speak to Yuki about how the war front was and what the next plan of action was to be. He heard Lyra laughing outside of his door and he paused a moment to listen. She was saying something about werewolves and vampires.

Was this really the girl he was supposed to marry?

There was no way Lyra was from this world. She was so weird and spoke to herself and she didn't even act like she was a princess. Above all that, she chose to marry him over Lance. That had really surprised him, and he could still barely believe it now when someone mentioned it. He was waiting for the moment that she broke it off and went to go marry Lance, but she seemed pretty relieved when Proton took her away from Lance last night, so maybe she was content with him?

Three sharp knocks were heard and Leighton opened the door, giving him no time to respond.

"Wedding details go to Lyra." He said, replying to a letter. "Or is there something else that you want?" He now looked up when Leighton shut the door behind her. Her heels clanked against the floor and he could tell that she was angry.

"All Lyra and Anna and Jo are talking about are werewolves and vampires and demons…" She complained.

"Leighton, I can't stop my fiancé from talking." Proton looked at her, wondering what she wanted him to do about it. "Why are they talking about those creatures?"

"They think Cas is one of those things." She rolled her eyes and Proton froze, looking at her. "But if he was, you'd tell me, right?"

"Of course…" Proton trailed off. It wasn't his business was Cas lied about.

"Good!" Leighton smiled at him before turning around and leaving the room. Of course, she left the door wide open. Proton got up and walked across the room to shut the door.

"So, Cas, is that your full name? Is Nate your full name?" Anna asked Cas and Nate. Cas grinned and furrowed his brows at the elf's questions.

"Yeah, they are. Ya see, my mom wanted some super girly name but my dad didn't, so they just sorta agreed on Cas. Nate's mom thought she was going to be a boy and she couldn't think of any other names." Cas laughed as Nate elbowed him. Proton leaned against the door frame, rolling his eyes at his best friend. He was such a liar. Cas caught Proton's eye and smirked. "Looks like the king needs me. Excuse me." Cas said before walking towards Proton. "Relax." He said as he stepped into Proton's study and Proton shut the door behind him.

"You're such a liar." Proton said once the door was shut and locked so no one else would barge in. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me because I'm your best friend?" Cas asked. "Anyway, I'll be heading out today for home with Nate."

"Thanks for giving me earlier notice." Proton said sarcastically and sat behind his desk as Cas plopped down in the seat in front of it.

"I've got political stuff to do. I guess my little adventure is over. Poo." He rolled his eyes as he relaxed back into the chair.

"Guess that means I won't have claw marks on the walls." Proton replied and Cas grinned, his canine teeth sharp now. "Can't you control this better?"

"Think I'm ugly or somethin'?" Cas questioned, but retracted the teeth so they were normal again. "I dunno, your castle is low on what I need to contain it. I should be fine for now. Just relax, okay?" Cas told his best friend. Proton didn't see how Cas functioned. He didn't understand the male at all.

"I'll make an attempt. Will you be returning?" Proton asked.

"Of course I will." Cas sat up now. "I'll be back in a few days, actually. Didn't you hear? We're having a war meeting here. Lyra is gaining allies." He eyed an unopened letter on Proton's desk, addressed to Lyra, from Olivine kingdom. Proton picked it up, wanting to open it, but he knew that it wasn't for him. "Now, I'll return just in time for the meeting, like I usually do."

* * *

><p>"When are Cas and Nate coming back?" Mikhail asked as he laid on the couch.<p>

"I'm not sure, but Lady Wionna wrote me a letter this morning asking if I, by chance, happened to see her necklace in the ballroom." Leighton looked to Anna, who sighed, pulling the necklace out of her pocket and handing it to the princess. "We really must fix your curse." Leighton muttered, pocketing the necklace so she could return it to the owner.

"I'm trying." Jo muttered, flipping through a book. "If I get powerful enough, I can lift her curse!"

"That will take a lot of work." Kassandra said. "I find it best to just try and work with the curse and make the best of it."

"Oh my god." Lyra came into the room with a letter in her hand. "So, you guys know how Princess Jasmine wrote me a letter about becoming my ally a few days ago?"

"Yeah, what's up now? Is she taking back the offer?" Anna asked and Mikhail laughed.

"No!" Lyra exclaimed, shaking her head. "Prince Cassius of Covers Island just sent me this letter!" She waved it in the air, excited. "He would love to be my ally! He says that any ally of Proton is an ally of mine and he can't wait to meet me….t-today…." She finished and Leighton sent her a look of pure horror.

"Today? As in…today?" Leighton asked.

"Yes, that would mean today." Jordan muttered, reading his book. "How did you two not know about the meeting that Proton is holding today with his allies?"

"No one tells me these things!" Leighton stood, annoyed. "I'll give him a piece of my mind!" She stomped to the door that led to the door to the stairs to the lobby. She opened the door and froze, seeing Jasmine and Volkner standing in the lobby. "Oh, hello you two!" Leighton smiled and glided down the stairs, going to hug Jasmine.

"She recovers fast." Kassandra said, slightly impressed. "This matter is not for us. How about we go practice some spells down in the kitchen, Jo?" The older woman offered, standing. Jo jumped up and dragged Taylor with them down the stairs that led to the kitchen. Jordan sighed, but stood, yanking Mikhail with them. They went down the stairs to the lobby, to join Leighton.

"I'm going to go watch them perform some spells." Anna bonded down the stairs to the kitchen and Lyra sighed.

"Come on now." Proton said, coming out of his study. He put his hand on the small of Lyra's back and guided her down the stairs. "Sorry I forgot to mention that the meeting is today. I've been busy." He still wasn't done with all the letters.

"Lyra!" Jasmine exclaimed and hugged Lyra, happy to see her again. "I'm so happy that we're allies now!"

"I am too, thank you so much!" Lyra exclaimed, both girls excited.

"So, where is Cassius?" Lance asked, coming into the room. His cape floated behind him, but Lyra didn't swoon like she thought she would. She actually stepped back to be by Proton's side again. Lance had his knight with him, and so did Jasmine. Leighton had Mikhail and Jordan, and Lyra was feeling a little weird since Nate wasn't with her. Ethan was somewhere, doing god knows what. All she knew was that she was making allies.

Jo peeked her head out of one of the doors in the back, along with Anna, curious about what was happening.

"He's coming, Lance." Proton muttered, though he wasn't so sure himself that the other prince would make it.

"You sure? You know he's always late to these things."

"So happy to know that you have faith in me." A blond male said, coming into the room. Lyra described him as a male version of Elsa, from the movie Frozen. His blond hair was brushed back, like someone attempted to slick it back, but it was obvious that he ran his hands through it, so it was a little messy. He wore a blue top and white pants and his light blue cape was far better than Lance. He crown was silver with bright blue jewels and sat crooked on top of his head, like he had put it on last minute. A girl followed him in with long blonde hair. She wore a scarf that covered her mouth and she followed the male closely. She wore blue and white as well to match the prince. They had to be Cassius and Lady Natalie from Covers Island, they were too pretty not to be!

"Holy…" Leighton muttered, it being her first time of seeing the male.

"I want that." Mikhail whispered as the prince got closer. Lyra noticed that he looked familiar and he wore a white eye patch over his left eye, though that didn't hinder his looks at all.

"Hard to have faith when you're always late, Cas." Proton said and everyone's jaws hit the floor, aside from Jasmine, Volkner, and Lance's.

"Oh, they look like they need a moment. Come along you two." Jasmine pulled Lance and Volkner into Proton's study and shut the door.

"What the hell?!" Leighton fumed, realizing that Cassius was Cas. "You….you look so different when you're hair isn't a complete mess! Why the hell did you lie to us?!"

"What was I supposed to do when you guys talked shit about me?" Cassius shrugged and Lyra continue to stare.

"I want that in werewolf form." Anna said. "I should have seen this coming."

"He looks better in person." Jo said, already knowing he was a prince because of her curse.

"Oh my god!" Mikhail exclaimed, now embarrassed. A prince had been flirting and teasing him for the past few weeks, and he didn't even realize. Mikhail was pissed, but slightly turned on. Cassius was far more attractive with his hair messily pushed back and in his royal clothes.

"I should have you all taken out for how you spoke about me. Talk shit, get hit, right Nate?" He asked the blonde girl, who rolled her sea green eyes. She had a scar over her right eye, but it didn't seem to bother her vision at all.

"T-This is Nate?" Lyra asked. "Why did you hide your face?! You're so pretty!" She exclaimed. "You both are!" Nate blushed, embarrassed, and looked at the ground.

"I'm really not, but thank you, princess." Silver said for Nate, who tried to avoid eye contact with any of them.

"Don't be so nervous." Cas patted her shoulder. "We totally had 'em fooled. Did you see them when we walked in? We're gorgeous."

"The people of Covers Island tend to be slightly vain." Jordan muttered. "Their prince more than anything."

"What? You got my whole bio in your head?" Cassius asked, slight irritation in his voice. His narrowed his eyes, glaring at Jordan. Nate touched Cassius' shoulder and he quickly reverted back into a smile. "Being in this get-up always make me a little testy." He apologized.

"Are you coming?" Lance called from the study and Cassius sighed loudly. Cassius turned around quickly and strode towards the room, obviously still irritated and close to losing his temper. "Don't go losing your temper, now."

"That only seems to happen with you around, wonder why?" Cassius asked with a growl and Lance flinched back, like he was expecting Cassius to lash out at him. "Come along, Proton. You are the mighty king of this poorly knitted alliance. Oh, I mean no offense to you, Jasmine, you are lovely as ever. It's the red head with dragon breath I'm referring to."

Anna bit her lip after hearing this, but started to laugh loudly. Proton chuckled and walked over to the room. "Are you two coming?" He asked, turning to ask Leighton and Lyra. The two girls looked at each other before rushing over to join.

* * *

><p>Lyra didn't follow as well as the others did throughout the meeting. She didn't know who anyone was or what was even going on. When Yuki came in to discuss war, then she was able to catch up. She was a knight in Lance's army in previous game files, so she followed and even put her input in.<p>

"Ah, a little war crazy?" Cassius asked. "War has always bored me."

"That's because you live on some magical island." Lance replied. The two glared at each other.

"You two, quiet." Proton ordered and since his crown was the biggest, they listened. "Honestly, stop arguing so much, Lance."

"What?!" Lance exclaimed. "You know just as well as I do that Cassius is the one that starts these fights. He's a demonic little monster." Cassius froze and gripped the table, while Proton glanced to Leighton and Lyra, wondering if he should get them out of the room.

"Don't test me, Lance." Cassius growled, baring his teeth to Lance. They were sharp and Lyra leaned back in her seat, as did Leighton, who glared at Proton, wanting him to stop this and wanting to know what the hell was going on.

"Stop." Proton commanded, standing up. Cassius sat back, looking to be trying to calm himself down before he jumped over the table and attacked Lance. "If you are going to fight and argue, get out. There are ladies present."

Lance stood, obviously in a horrible mood now. "Well, we are done anyway, aren't we?" Cassius stood as well and the three man just stared at each other.

"It was very lovely to see you again, Lance." Jasmine stood and smiled at Lance. "Proton, if you don't mind, I would love to stay and visit for a while longer. It's been such a long time since I've seen you, Cassius, and you are staying with Proton, right?"

"He's always staying with me. You may stay as long as you like, Jasmine." Proton said and Lyra and Leighton stood as well. "I'll see you out, Lance." Proton led Lance out of the room, and Cassius tagged along, just to piss Lance off more.

"Oh, Proton will get a mouthful from me later on." Leighton stormed out of the room, pissed. Lyra didn't understand why she was so angry, but she and Jasmine followed them out, along with Volkner right behind them.

"You know, you can go talk to Lady Natalie." Jasmine said to her knight, who hung back by the princess. He blushed and rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest. "It's been so long since we've gotten to speak to her and Cassius. Almost a year, isn't it? Lady Natalie!"The girl turned when she heard her name being called, and Volkner groaned. "I haven't spoken to you in so long, how are you?" Jasmine asked as the girl walked over to them.

"I'm well, thank you." Silver spoke for Nate and Jasmine looked surprised to see Silver speaking for Nate.

"Oh….what…..what happened to your voice?" Jasmine asked.

"It was taken away." Silver answered for Nate, who now looked a little embarrassed and nervous. "I smart mouthed a witch." Lyra was surprised, she didn't know that was the reason.

"He drives me up the wall." Cassius said once he and Proton reappeared in the lobby. "I swear one day, I'll claw his eyes out."

"Isn't that what happened to your eye?" Lance said, coming in after them. "They say there's been monster attacks outside the kingdom and they won't let me leave."

"What happened to my eye is none of your concern, pretty boy." Cassius replied turning around and the two princes faced each other, like they were about to fight.

"Ironic because Cassius is a pretty boy too." Anna said, now coming out of the hallway. "Hey, what happened to your eye? I always thought the bandages on it were just decoration or something, but that fancy eyepatch you got has gotta be real."

"Ah, nothing too exciting." Cassius said, brushing the question off.

"What clawed it out? Did it hurt? Was there a lot of blood?" Anna continued.

"Anna." Lyra said, a little embarrassed.

"A demon got me." Cassius answered. "And yeah, it hurt a lot, but I look pretty cool with this eye patch." Cassius grinned, and Lance made a face. Another male hurried in and stood next to Lance he had brown hair and he locked eyes with Taylor, who had entered the room after Jo and Anna came into the room. Taylor glared back and stood next to Jo protectively. Lyra noticed all of this, and she wished Ethan was here.

"This is Skylar, my knight." Lance introduced him, but Lyra got a weird vibe from the boy. He wasn't dressed like a knight, he was dressed more like…a hunter.

She shivered and Ethan appeared on her shoulder. "The book is filling up pretty fast. No sense in you reading it though, everything you know is in it, everything you don't still isn't. But watch out for that guy."

"Nice to meet ya, Skylar." Cassius greeted the male, who seemed surprised by Cassius' friendliness. Cas just smirked and winked at the boy, making Lance annoyed and making Skylar blush at the forwardness of it. Mikhail huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Skylar.

"I'll have the maids get your rooms ready." Proton said and headed back to the maids' area. Lyra hoped they stayed in the other wing of the castle, because the vibe she was getting from Skylar was bad.

"It's nice to meet you all." He smiled, and he didn't seem like a bad guy, but Lyra knew something was off.

"I love your cross necklace, princess." Lance commented while Cassius flinched back when Lance pulled at his own cross necklace from under his shirt. "Crosses are important to wear. They protect you from monsters."

"Ugly little things." Cassius grumbled, slipping back into his foul mood that he seemed to be falling into ever since he arrived. "They do nothing, Lyra, but show that you have poor fashion taste."

"Fashion has nothing to do with religion or holy items, Cassius." Lance fired back and the tanned prince rolled his eyes.

"Are you alright, Cassius?" Lyra asked. The male wasn't being himself at all. He was trying to be, but it was plain to see that his efforts were failing.

"Like I said before, being in this get up makes me testy." He grumbled, pushing his crown to the other side of his head. It was still tilted, but it looked good that way. "The crown ruins my hair and is heavy on my head. Gives me headaches."

"Just take it off then." Jo suggested, but Leighton shook her head.

"Royalty never takes their crowns off unless it's necessary." She lectured but Cassius took the crown off anyway and twirled it around his finger.

"Royalty doesn't really give a shit at the moment." He said with a shrug. Nate frowned and snatched it from him before putting it back onto his head, forcefully.

* * *

><p><strong>If you don't know what genderbent Elsa looks like, just google it. All the pictures look amazing. <strong>

**Long chapter. :3 Foreshadowing. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm glad I made Cassius look like genderbent Elsa.**

* * *

><p>The air in the castle was tense. There were too many people that didn't mix together well.<p>

"Thank you for becoming my ally. I didn't thank you yesterday." Lyra said to Cassius, who just shrugged.

"I like you and you're goin' marry my best bro, so why not?" He smiled at her but his mood changed drastically when Lance entered the room.

"You'll run your kingdom into the ocean if that's how you handle things of that nature." Lance shook his head at the blond prince, who just looked annoyed at Lance's existence.

"Good thing I know how to swim." Cassius replied and went up the stairs quickly and shut the door behind him. Lance rolled his eyes and went up the other staircase, most likely to go to his room. Lyra decided to follow Cassius and headed up the staircase to the rec room, where everyone was usually gathered.

Cassius wasn't there, so she guessed he was either in Proton's study or his room. Anna was sitting on the couch, braiding her long black hair. "I can't wait for Lance to leave. Cas is so testy and grumpy with him around." She said. Lyra sat next to her, not sure what to do. "I put itching powder in Lance's clothes." Anan admitted after a few moments of silence.

"What?" Lyra asked, not sure if she heard the girl right.

"I put itching powder in his clothes." Anna repeated herself. "I don't like him."

"I don't think that's a good enough reason to do that." Jordan said, looking up from his book. "But I don't like him either, so I won't mention anything if someone asks." He nodded to Anna before he got up and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Lyra heard Jo talking about something.

"So, Anna, how exactly were you cursed?" Lyra questioned as the girl continue to braid her hair. "I need to know so I can help you."

"Ah, well, ya see, I lived in a clan of elves in the jungle. It was fun and there was lots to play with. We had tons of artifacts and those things were so cool and I just couldn't help myself, so I snatch one. When I was going to return it, the elder caught me, and, yeah. I'm cursed to steal." Anna explained, shaking her head. "I don't remember how to break it.

"Guess we'll have to figure that part out." Lyra muttered, thinking it over.

"But don't spend too much time on my curse. I've gotten used to it, and if it never gets broken, well, that's life." Anna shrugged and smiled as she finished braiding her hair.

"I'll figure it all out." Lyra told her. "I wish there was some way to possibly see what happened to everyone, like a flashback." She said, but Ethan shook his head.

"No flashbacks this time around. You're in this game like real life now, Lyra. That stuff won't happen." He reminded her and she groaned.

"That would be cool. We could all gather around and watch it like it's a home movie or something." Anna said, sort of excited about it. "Good thing Jo and Kassandra and Jordan are working on doing something like that right now."

"What?" Lyra asked, eyebrows raised. "They are?"

"Yeah! They've been talking about it all week, but you've been pretty busy, so that's probably why you haven't heard about it."

Lyra jumped up and hurried down the stairs to the kitchen where Kassandra, Jo, and Jordan were standing around a table. "Can you guys do it?!"

"Yes, we actually can." Kassandra said with a small smile. Her misdreavus flew around her head, excited. "Would you like to test it out?"

"Yes!" Anna shouted, coming down the stairs. "Me! Do me!" She ran over to the three.

"Alright, but, you need to stay calm." Kassandra put her finger on Anna's forehead and on Jo's forehead and her eyes went vacant, like she was prophesizing. Jo closed her eyes, concentrating and Jordan put his finger on Kassandra's forehead and said a spell under his breath before he waved his hand and Lyra felt a rush of air before she saw a jungle and Anna running around.

She knew she was still in the kitchen, but she could feel the heat and humidity of the jungle like she was there. It was like a movie, with an imagine floating in front of her that her eyes were drawn to.

Lyra could hear Anna's laughter and she felt so happy and lifted as Anna dodged in and out of branches, giggling and laughing. Then suddenly got dark as Lyra heard shouting and arguing between Anna and an unknown man, possibly her father.

The scene once more to another scene. Anna was there with a small object in her hand. She was sneaking into a treehouse like building, far past midnight. Other items were there in cases and she was close to slipping the item back under a case when a bright light was shone on her.

An elder elf stood there shaking his head. He looked to be the leader, or high priest of the village. _"Oh, Anna…"_ He muttered, shaking his head. _"I hate to do this, but it's for your own good."_ He said and pointed his finger at her, casting a light green spell on her. _"The curse will be broken until you find the one thing you cannot steal. Until then, you are banished. You are no longer part of this clan. You shall be given your clean name back when you can redeem yourself."_

The image disappeared and the feeling of hopelessness left Lyra. Kassandra came out of the trance and took her fingers off of Jo and Anna's forehead and Jordan did the same.

"That felt funny." Anna muttered, rubbing her forehead.

"Next time we do it on you can watch. Since Jo knows everything about everyone, we can use her to view it." Jordan explained. "That went rather smoothly."

"That was amazing! Anna, all we need to do, is help you find the one thing you can't steal!" Lyra exclaimed, excited.

"Really? You found that out from them?" Anna asked, surprised. "Oh, wow, that's so awesome! I didn't think it'd actually help!"

"Of course it helped." Jordan said.

"So, the person we want to know about doesn't have to be here for it?" Lyra asked, curious. It had felt so strange. She felt everything Anna must had been feeling in that exact moment, it was actually sort of draining.

"No, they don't, but it helps make it easier." Kassandra answered. "Why? Who do you want to know about?"

"Everyone." Lyra said seriously, balling her hands into fists.

"Ah, well, give us a break. That takes a lot of energy out of us..." Kassandra sighed, rubbing her head.

"It does. I wonder if Taylor is back from his little outing." Jo muttered, looking tired.

* * *

><p>"Uh, no, I don't really wanna do this…" Mikhail muttered as they gathered in the living area on their side of the castle. Lance and the other guests were not present, but that was fine with Lyra. Kassandra, Jo, and Jordan hovered near him, rolling their eyes at the male.<p>

"What are we going to see?" Cassius asked, running his hand through his hair again. He crossed his legs while he sat on the couch. Anna bounced up and down next to him with Lyra next to her, while Leighton sat in a chair to the side. Nate stood behind Cassius and Proton leaned over on the couch, right next to Lyra. Yuki sat in the chair next to Leighton and Taylor was still gone on his 'hunting' trip.

"His childhood!" Kassandra announced and put her finger on his forehead and her other finger on Jo's, while Jordan put his on her forehead and held his hand up, like they did last time.

"Woah..." Proton muttered as the screen appeared and this sort of dark vibe filled the room. There was a tiny boy, blond and obviously Mikhail, running down the hallway. Fighting and arguing was heard down the hall, and Mikhail seemed to be running from it. He didn't look old, maybe around eight or so.

Suddenly, the front door opened and a much older girl, with long blonde hair and soft eyes came in and Mikhail ran to her, hugging her tightly. Lyra could hear him cry and whine and beg the girl to take him with her. The girl held him tightly, and whispered in his ear.

The scene changed to something, brighter. Mikhail was a little older and was shaking another boy's hand excitedly.

"It's Jordan." Leighton spoke as she looked at the young black haired boy. Mikhail smiled as the woman who had hugged him earlier patted his head and spoke to whom Lyra guessed was Jordan's dad. "And that's his dad…and that's Catarina! Mikhail's sister!"

"Wow, they look a lot alike." Cassius muttered, leaning in. The scene changed once more as Catarina hugged a much older Mikhail tightly, before he kissed her cheek and ran off, joining Jordan on the road.

"_I'll see you later, Cat! Jordan and I are going on an adventure!" _Mikhail shouted, waving.

"_Jordan, please, make sure he gets back safety. He's my little baby brother!" _Catarina exclaimed.

"_Cat, I can't work miracles, but I'll try my best." _Jordan replied and smirked as Mikhail elbowed him. They went off and the scene changed again, to one with Leighton in it now. They seemed awkward together.

"This was when we first met and I was bonded to them." She explained as the Leighton in the illusion said something, and both males laughed. She smiled brightly and that was it. The screen faded and everyone leaned back in the seats as Mikhail opened his eyes, confused.

"Damn, Mikhail…" Cassius muttered, shaking his head. "You were cute as hell when you were a kid! You're still cute now." Cassius winked at Mikhail, after he said that. Mikhail blushed and glared at him.

"I'm not cute, then or now!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms across his chest. "D-Did you all really see all of that?"

"Don't worry, I skipped through parts." Kassandra. "I pulled from you and Jo's mind and only showed bits and pieces. You were a cute kid. Still are."

"Not a kid." Mikhail grumbled, but Kassandra just patted his head.

"To me, you are. Remember, I'm twenty five." Kassandra said and her misdreavus giggled. "You guys are so interesting with your backstories! I really wanna do another one."

"Me too!" Jo exclaimed, excited. "Let's do Taylor! I don't know anything about him. I've tried so hard, but, nothing shows up."

"We'll have to practice before we can do that. We still need your help with the memories." Jordan said, but seemed up for the challenge. "So who's up next?"

Yuki shook his head, as did Lyra. The last thing those two needed was everyone finding out about the other world. Proton was an obvious no, and Cassius and Nate just stood up quickly, ready to flee.

"Wait, Nate, I gotta know, did you get that scar from the same demon that ripped Cas' eye out?" Anna asked and Nate froze, confused for a second. Everyone looked at them and Nate looked at the ground, obviously embarrassed and nervous.

"Dinner is ready!" Jasmine said, coming into the room and Nate looked relieved at the interruption. Anna pouted, but followed the group to the dining room for another awkward dinner with their guests.

"I was serious, Nate, your eye scar is so rad." Anna started back up, looking at Nate who just sat at the table next to Cassius not eating. "Where'd ya get it from?"

"A sword." Silver answered for Nate and Anna rolled her eyes while Cassius laughed at the smartass answer.

"Natalie, please." Leighton grumbled. "And you haven't touched your food! Actually…I never see you touch your food….and why don't you take off that scarf?"

"I'm not hungry." Silver muttered, floating close to Nate's head. "I like my scarf."

"Just tell me about the scar story." Anna continued and everyone looked to Nate again, including Volkner and Lance.

"My ex-boyfriend did it to me." Silver answered, finally, and it was dead silent. "And I cannot eat, or drink. I insist that my scarf stays on, it's for your benefit."

"What? How do you survive?" Yuki asked, leaning in.

"Natalie, your curse is that you can't speak, right?" Lyra questioned. "But…it's more than that, isn't it? I never hear you sigh, or breath through your mouth, or laugh, giggle, cough, sneeze…" Natalie looked frustrated and embarrassed, so she yanked down her scarf.

"What the hell happened?!" Lance questioned as he stared at her mouth.

"Oh…" Leighton mumbled and suddenly they felt bad.

"My mouth is sewn shut." Silver said for Nate as she pointed at her mouth, which was sewn shut. It was obviously done by magic, but it looked painful and Lyra could see why she covered it up. "My mouth was sewn shut and my ex-boyfriend gave me this scar. Anything else you'd like to ask?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Again?" Proton asked when he opened his door to see Lyra. He let her into his bedroom and she crawled onto her side of the bed. Proton was starting to think he should just go ahead and have her things moved to his room since she was making a habit of sleeping in his room. This had been going on since his coronation, a week ago.

He let her do it though and didn't protest. They were going to have to share a bed sooner or later, and she was very warm against his cold skin. He got into bed next to her and started to read through a few papers he had sitting on his nightstand. Lyra just laid next to him, on her side and facing him.

"Do you work all the time?" She asked, catching him off guard. "You always seem to be busy."

"I am king. Besides, I have all these knuckleheads living under one roof, you being the biggest knucklehead of them all, so it keeps me busy." He teased and she frowned, making a face, but then laughed and smacked his arm before she turned on her side with her backing facing him.

"Go to bed." She told him and snuggled under the covers, going to sleep herself. "I have a feeling tomorrow will be an exciting day."

Proton turned off the light and decided to listen to his fiancé.

* * *

><p>Lyra felt a little bad for what had happened at dinner the night before. She felt worse when she was going to Proton's room that night and passed by Nate's door, which was cracked a little. She had peered in and saw Nate sitting up on her bed, reading, with Cassius lying next to her, curled into her side. Cassius told her that he was sorry, about everything, and that he really missed her voice. Lyra decided to leave after that and go to Proton's room.<p>

"Hey, uh, Cas, what does Nate's voice sound like?" Lyra asked as she ate breakfast. Cassius looked up from the paper he was reading to look at her.

"Probably what you'd imagine it to sound like. Not light and girly. More tough and deep." Cassius described, trying to remember it. "It's been so long since I've heard it, but I can still hear her screaming at me to stop goofing around. It's hard to describe it though."

"I can imagine it now." Lyra nodded her head. "Uh…can I ask you something else?" She asked, seeing as there was no one in the room with them, she figured now was the time as any.

"Shoot." He replied, a grin on his face.

"What are you…exactly?" She asked and his smile fell. "I know you're human….but I know you're something else too."

He sighed, shaking his head. "An extremely ugly monster, Lyra, but I don't want you to be scared of me, I'd never hurt you." He said as he looked at her.

"Is it the reason you've been so cranky and testy lately?"

"Partly. Lance always gets me in a foul mood." He muttered.

"I know he does. Cassius, you're attractive, I don't see how you can become and ugly monster." Lyra continued, wanting more information from him.

"Everyone tells me I'm attractive, seems like the best thing I have going for me." He said, glancing away for a second. "Too bad I ruined that a while ago. Lyra, don't waste time on me, I'd much rather you focus on fixing Natalie so I can have her screaming at me again." He flashed her a smile and stood up, ready to leave. Lyra stood as well and followed him down the hallway to the main lobby of the castle, wanting to talk to him some more. "I'd also like it if you took off that cross necklace. Crosses give me headaches."

"Of course they do." Lance started, coming out of the study.

"Here comes another headache now." Cassius growled and Lyra suddenly felt very much in danger. She believed that Cassius would never hurt her purposely, but accidents happened, and she had a horrible feeling in her gut. "Lance, I really wouldn't test me. My patience with you gets shorter every passing hour I'm stuck with you."

"Your threats do not scare me off. Besides, you need to keep your temper. There is a lady present." Lance glanced towards Lyra, who was now backing up towards the door she and Cassius came from.

"You should remove yourself from my presence. I'm sick of staring at your ugly face." He spat out, getting riled up.

"You would know ugly, wouldn't you?" Lance asked, having too much fun teasing Cassius.

"What's going on?" Leighton asked as she came out of the door Lyra was backing up to.

"It must be horrible to only be liked for your looks. I'm glad I'm liked for my looks and my skills." Lance said and Kassandra busted into the room from behind Leighton and Lyra.

"Lyra!" She shouted as she ran out. "Get back!"

"You won't be so pretty once I tear your face to shreds!" Cassius shouted, having been pushed too far by Lance, who honestly seemed surprised by Cassius' reaction.

Everything happened so fast. Lyra and Leighton were yanked back by Kassandra, who obviously had saw this coming. Cassius ripped his eye patch off and threw it across the room before he attacked Lance. His claws were sharp like his canine teeth and he had black ram horns coming out of the sides of his head. He had a black tail that had a tuff of black fur at the end of it and his eyes were red, with feline or snake like pupils.

"Demon!" Leighton screamed and Mikhail and Jordan were rushing down the stairs in a heartbeat to try and stop Cassius.

"Cassius!" Silver shouted for Nate, running after them. Proton ran out of his study as Lance pushed Cassius back.

"I'll drain your soul from your body so I never have to hear your voice again!" Cassius shouted, his voice more rough and husky, more demon like. Lyra wanted to help Cassius. It wasn't his fault that Lance pushed him too far! "I haven't had a soul in a week and I'm starving for one!"

Proton grabbed hold of Cassius' arm, but the blond prince swiped his claws at Proton, cutting him and forcing him to let go. Silver called out to Cassius again, and he paused for a moment, but continued to fight Lance.

"Cassius, stop!" Mikhail grabbed onto his arm, and Lyra was prepared to see Mikhail get hurt, but Cassius froze. "Cassius, stop. It's going to be fine." Mikhail said gently and surprised that Cassius stopped. Lyra rushed forward to Proton, who was holding onto his right arm tightly. It was bleeding and he was obviously in pain.

"Lance, get to your wing of the castle and stay there until we figure this out." He ordered and Lance didn't argue. "Mikhail, keep doing whatever you're doing. He'll fall asleep eventually, he always does after he loses it."

"You are coming with me." Lyra ordered, forcing Proton to leaving the room and go to the kitchen, where she was able to clean the cut and bandage it up. It wasn't too bad of a cut, Cassius obviously hadn't been trying to hurt Proton. "Much better." She said once she finished. "That was terrifying when you got hurt."

"You weren't scared before that?" Proton asked, furrowing his brows.

"Oh, no, I was. I knew Cassius wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but I had a feeling he might not be able to control himself once he…" She trailed off.

"Lost it?" Proton finished for her and she shook her head yes. "He's only done it twice before in front of me."

"You aren't mad at him for hurting you, are you?" Lyra asked, gently rubbing her thumb over his bandage.

"Of course not." Proton replied. "I figured this was going to happen when he told me he was running out of souls to eat here. I'm surprised he lasted this long with Lance around."

Lyra was going to say more, but she heard movement upstairs. "Come on, I bet everyone is in the gathering room." She led him up the backway to the room, where Mikhail was sitting on the couch. He had a pillow in his lap that Cassius was resting his head on. His black horns were still present and his pointy ears, as was his tail. He was curled up against Mikhail and the back of the couch, asleep. The end of his tail was moving up and down slowly and peacefully. Mikhail was running his hands through Cassius' hair gently, soothing the demon.

"Oh..uh….he fell asleep on me." Mikhail explained to Lyra and Proton, but Anna laughed from her chair. "I didn't wanna wake him up by moving."

"Liar." Leighton smirked from her spot next to Anna. Nate was standing behind them, while Jordan, Jo, and Kassandra were standing around the couch, debating something. Yuki was sitting in a chair by himself, confused.

"He's so cute." Anna cooed, watching Cassius' tail. "I wish he was a werewolf though."

"We know." Yuki said. "But he's obviously not."

"I can't believe he just snapped like that." Leighton muttered.

"He said he hadn't eaten…a…soul…in a week." Mikhail mumbled, looking down at Cassius.

"Relax, he doesn't eat whole souls." Silver told them all for Nate, making them feel better. "He eats half a soul usually. You rebuild your soul if some of it is taken. You're just usually tired afterwards and need to rest."

"That's why the maids were tired." Lyra said, finally connecting it all. "And…souls taste better when they're aroused?" She questioned.

"He claims that." Silver replied, while Nate rolled her eyes.

"We were talking about whether or not to take a peek into his memories." Jo brought up. "There's no way he'd ever let us do it when he was awake."

"And I'm not letting you do it when he's asleep either!" Silver argued for Nate, but Jordan shot a spell her way and she and Silver both fell asleep. Lyra caught her before she could fall, and glared at Jordan.

"We can use her memories too, pull her over here." He said and Lyra wanted to protest, but did it anyway. "This might be more complicated." He pushed the coffee table to the side and Kassandra crouched down so she was at level with Cassius and put her finger on his forehead. Jo did the same, but put her finger on Nate's forehead as Kassandra put her other finger on Jo's forehead. Jordan remained standing, and put his finger on Kassandra's forehead and held his other hand up, creating the screen.

"This might be confusing, since its two people at once, but their memories intertwine." Jordan warned them before it started. "And…better get comfortable, this is going to be long."

Anna shivered as a warm salty breeze was felt by them all. Mikhail looked excited to get to see it this time and they all stared at a bright blue sky and matching waves.

"_Cassius!"_ A female voice shouted. They saw a young blond boy, obviously Cassius, leaning over a railing. A blonde girl yanked him back, frowning at him. _"You're an idiot. You could've fallen over the railing!"_

"_Natalieeeeee. Relax, stop yelling at me."_ Cassius grinned. Lyra smiled, feelings of happiness and carefreeness bubbling up inside of her.

"They were cute when they were little." Leighton commented, also smiling.

The scene changed to one when they were both much older, possibly the age they were now. Natalie stood next to Cassius, who was slumped back on his throne, bored. _"Your highness…"_ She started, her voice different than it was when she was younger.

"_Cut the formal shit, Nate."_ He sighed as couples danced around in front of him. _"This ball is a bore."_

"_Okay, lil' shit." _Nate started again and Cassius grinned at her, not offended at all. _"Those girls have been staring at you all night." _She nodded to a group of girls, who giggled when Cassius looked in their direction.

"_They just think I'm attractive, seems like the best thing I have going for me." _He shrugged, looking away.

"He said something like that earlier when we were eating breakfast." Lyra said and the mood shifted to a slightly depressing one before it shifted to a lighter mood.

"_Oh, lookie there, it's Tabitha."_ Cassius chuckled as Nate smiled brightly as a male with light purple, possibly brown, hair came towards them. _"Hey, Tabby. How goes it?"_

"_Don't call me that, your highness_." He muttered, rolling his eyes at Cassius. _"Nate's the only one allowed to call me that." _

"_If I date you can I call you that then?"_ Cassius asked and Nate smacked him on the back of his head. Tabitha put his arm around Nate's waist and kissed her while Cassius made a disgusted face.

"Urg, I feel funny now." Yuki complained.

"We're probably feeling what Natalie was feeling then. All excited and happy." Lyra told them. "How depressing…I wonder what happened to make them break up? They look so happy together."

"We're about to find out, I think." Mikhail muttered as the scene changed once more. Natalie had her sword drawn and Cassius stood behind her, with his sword drawn as well. They were close to the castle, possibly in the courtyard. An old witch stood in front of them.

"_You are such a vain prince! I'll teach you a lesson you won't ever forget!" _She exclaimed as she shot a purple spell at Cassius. Nate deflected it with her sword and then ran at the witch, ready to stab her. _"Guess I'll have to deal with his smart mouthed companion first! I'm sick of hearing your voice, child, and I am sure everyone else is as well." _This time the witch shot a green spell and hit Nate dead on with it. She fell to the ground, hunched over and everyone in the room could feel a pulling sensation on their lips and mouth. Nate's screams died out as her mouth was sewn shut and Lyra had to rub her lips to make sure they were still separated.

"_Natalie!" _Cassius shouted and ran to his knight, only to be hit with a purple spell. He fell to the ground as well as he started to turn into a demon.

"_Now you're both ugly creatures instead of the beautiful and handsome people you used to be. Don't look at me with so much hatred, child. I could have made it where your body still needed food and water. I decided to be nice and make it so you can live without those things." _The witch smiled down at Nate, who was glaring daggers at her as she pulled at her own mouth, desperately trying to rip open the imaginary seams. _"The spells will be broken only if you learn to accept this curse and have an angel fall in love with you."_ She told Cassius who bared his newly sharpened teeth at her. _"And you must learn to accept this curse and yourself, along with finding love." _She told Nate, who wanted to speak, but couldn't. The witch disappeared and everyone was left with a depressed feeling.

The scene changed again and a woman with short blonde hair was flipping through a book. _"I can't break the spells completely, darlings. I was able to confine yours to your left eye though, Cassius. Just keep it covered and keep your temper. Unfortunately, you need to eat souls as a demon would. I believe, though, that you can have part of someone's soul and be just fine. Their soul will regrow, so don't worry about that." _She said. _"And Natalie, my poor baby, I can't do anything at all. I can't even put an illusion spell over it. All I can do is give you a scarf to cover your mouth, and give you Silver. He'll communicate with you and be able to speak your thoughts for you." _The woman said, putting her hands on Nate's cheeks.

"It's her mother?" Anna asked. "She reminds me of my mom…" The screen started to fade, but Anna protested. "Wait! I gotta see what happens to them after this! C'mon, you three, Lyra needs more info to help break the curse, don't you?"

"I suppose."

"Keep it rolling, this is interesting." Leighton commanded and they swore they heard Jordan groan, but the screen reappeared and they stayed inside Cassius' and Natalie's minds.

The scene was now Cassius staring in a mirror, his eye patch off his eye and his tail flicked back and forth as he touched his sharp teeth. He shook and gripped the sink as tears threatened to fall from his red eyes. _"What do I have going for me now?" _He asked himself, looking at his reflection.

"This is depressing. I wanna skip it." Mikhail said, but Leighton held her hand up for him to be quiet as a heavy feeling was felt by all of them.

"_Don't think that way." _A male voice said and everyone recognized it as Silver. Nate was standing in his room, a scarf wrapped around her mouth, with Silver floating beside her.

"_Arceus, Nate, I'm so fucking sorry." _Cassius went over to her and hugged her tightly, still shaking. _"It's my fault that this happened to you. You didn't deserve it at all. I'm goin' fix it, okay? It'll be fine. Tabitha will see you and still be in love with you and bam! You'll be fine." _He said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"_Your highness, I-" T_abitha started as he opened the door. He froze, seeing a demon with his arms around his girlfriend. _"What the hell?!" _He exclaimed and reached for his sword, but he didn't have it. He yanked his small dagger off his belt and ran at the two.

"Oh no!" Anna exclaimed as Nate turned around to defend Cassius. They all felt a sharp pain in the skin around their right eyes as Nate put her hand up to her right eye. Tabitha dropped the dagger that had cut Nate and put his hands on her shoulders.

"_Shit, shit, shit, Natalie, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know that was Cassius. W-What the hell happened to you?"_ Tabitha asked Cassius, who was putting his eye patch back on. Tabitha grabbed a towel from the bathroom and pressed it to his girlfriend's eye, panicked.

"Oh…it was an accident…." Anna mumbled. "I thought he did it on purpose because she was cursed…he's not so bad!"

"Wait for it." Jordan muttered as the scene changed again. It was nighttime now and Nate seemed to be fine, but had a scar over her right eye.

"_I'm so sorry, Natalie. I just saw a demon and you and I jumped to conclusions." _Tabitha explained and when his girlfriend didn't reply, he stopped in the middle of the hallway. _"Why are you wearing that scarf? It's far too hot for that, stop being silly." _He said and pulled the scarf down. He stared at her mouth, before shaking his head and backing away.

"_I didn't know how to tell you. It'll be fine, I promise! It'll be broken soon and I'll be back to normal!" _Silver exclaimed as Nate took a step forward. _"I can't speak, but Silver can speak for me. It'll be okay."_

"_Natalie….I can't do this."_ Tabitha shook his head. _"I still love you, Natalie, but…but I can't be with you. I'm sorry." _

Natalie looked heartbroken as Tabitha hurried away and Lyra saw Leighton wipe a few tears from her eyes. The screen faded, for good this time, and everyone sat in silence. "Oh my god!" Leighton exclaimed and wiped more tears from her eyes. "Poor Natalie!"

"What a douchebag!" Anna exclaimed, now angry. "How could he do that to Natalie? She loved him so much! You could just tell by how she looked at him!"

"Poor Cassius…" Mikhail mumbled, looking down at the sleeping demon in his lap. Kassandra and Jo stood up straight, stretching and cracking their backs from being stuck in an uncomfortable position for so long.

"You know how hard it was to pick through their memories?" Kassandra said, dusting herself off. "It's so dark in there. Showing it all would've taken hours." She looked to Cassius, who was still asleep, and Natalie, who was still asleep against the couch. "They won't be happy when they wake up, I can see it now."

"I just wanna hug them." Anna mumbled. "They weren't kicked out of their home, though, were they?" She asked, concerned, and Lyra knew why.

"No." Jo answered. "Arceus no. The people of Covers Island adore Cassius and Natalie. They left on their own to go break their curses."

"Good." Anna said, relieved at hearing this.

"When are they going to wake up?" Lyra asked, a little worried.

"Cassius will probably sleep for a few more hours. Then be cranky and we might not see him until tomorrow afternoon. Demons are bitches." Proton started. "And I'm sure that spell on Nate isn't too strong, so she'll wake up in an hour."

"I want to be nowhere near either of them when they wake up." Anna declared, jumping up. A low growl came from Cassius, but he just buried his face deeper into the pillow and went quiet. "I'm out."

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><p><strong>EVERYTHING IN THIS CHAPTER IS RELAVENT TO THE PLOT I KNOW THAT'S REALLY AMAZING.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**If you have anything you'd like to change about your character (like crush or something) as long as it's not personality or something like that that's sort of set in stone, just shoot me a PM and let me know!**

**EVERYTHING IS RELEVENT TO THE PLOT. **

**I'VE BEEN WATCHING FROZEN TOO MUCH.**

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><p>"What the hell is wrong with you?" Proton growled, slamming his fist down on the table. Lance was taken aback by this act, but, he was expecting it. "You pissed off Cassius so much that he wanted to kill you!"<p>

"What did you do?" Jasmine questioned, glaring at Lance, who just shrugged it off.

"Cassius is now sleeping it off." Proton plopped down in his seat with a heavy sigh, thinking of his best friend, who, even though he was asleep, still had his demon horns and tail. "He's not reverting back to his old form though….a trip to Covers Island might be in the near future for us…not for you two, of course."

He ran his hand through his hair, now messing it up. Small green locks fell into his vision. He brushed them back and felt like slamming his head into the table a few times. Viewing Natalie and Cassius' memories really drained him and all of the drama of the day just made it worse.

Cassius was his best friend. Cassius was there for Proton when his mother died and when his father ran off, and Proton was there for him through every break down and shattered mirror with his blood covered knuckles. Now he had Lyra to worry about, and all the others. Anna, Leighton, Mikhail, Jo…he was sure that Kassandra, Jordan, Taylor, and Yuki could take care of themselves, but if Cassius attacked any of the others, they could be goners.

"Hey, you okay?" Lyra's hands were on his shoulders before he realized she had entered the room. Her touches were soft and gentle as she rubbed his shoulders in small circular movements. "C'mon, it's late, lets go to bed." She had to help him. He was vital to getting her out of this game.

"You're right….we'll finish this tomorrow. I'll see to it that you two are able to make it back to your kingdoms safely." Proton finished, standing up. He left the room with Lyra, heading up the stairs to the bedroom.

"He's still asleep. He refuses to let go of Mikhail." Lyra explained as they peeked into Cassius' room. Mikhail was stretched out on Cassius' large bed, but Cassius was curled up tight next to him. "And he still hasn't turned back to normal….."

"It's probably because he hasn't any souls lately…we'll try to fix him tomorrow." Proton muttered.

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><p>"Lyra!" Anna pounced on the bed. Proton was already up and doing business. Lyra jumped awake as the elf bounced on her bed. "We're going to Covers Island!"<p>

"Wait, what?" Lyra muttered, sitting up.

"Covers Island! Today!" Anna shook her and hopped off the bed. "Get dressed! Get ready! It's time for adventure!" She sang, her black hair swirling around with her as she danced around the room. "More goodies for me to snatch~!" She winked as Leighton hit her with a book as she entered the room.

"Child, please, let's try to stop stealing." She murmured, flicking her brunette curls over her shoulder. "Anyway, yes, we will be departing for Covers Island very soon, and we need to get you ready, Lyra. We let you sleep in today, because let's face it, yesterday was shitty. Today will be better, so, let's get to work!"

"Work?" Lyra yawned and was yanked from her bed and thrown into the bathroom.

"You sure this is okay?" Jo asked Cassius, whose tail was flicking back and forth.

"Yeah, my parentals are pretty laid back. Besides, I need Ms. Trish to fix this." He muttered, touching his horns. "I can't walk around like this."

"But you're cute. Look at your little tail and pointy ears." Jo cooed, though the prince crossed his arms and looked away, embarrassed. Taylor, back from his trip, just glared, not happy that the demon was getting attention from Jo. "You have a little tuff of fur at the end of your tail, it's so cute."

"Something is wrong with your eyes." Cassius said, crossing his arms.

"You're crankier when you're like this." Yuki observed and two looked at each other, red eyes meeting red eyes.

"I'm just glad to be getting out of this castle. I've been having horrible vibes lately." Kassandra murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"That Skylar guy is nothing but trouble." Taylor started, thinking back to Lance's knight, who gave off the vibe of a hunter more than a knight. "I'm glad that he's leaving and we'll be far away from him."

"So am I." Jo said, obviously knowing something about Skylar.

"Let's just get moving." Proton decided, coming into the room. "Your parents are expecting us soon."

Lyra was confused, but it was probably from how hard the maids at scrubbed at her skin making sure she 'glowed' and looked her best. She followed them out of the castle as they rode to the harbor in carriages. Their small things of luggage were loaded onto the boat, a small boat she might add, and she nervously boarded it with everyone else, who seemed calm about it.

"Remember, magic." Ethan reminded her, sitting on her shoulder. The boat began to move on its own, picking up speed gradually.

"This is so fun!" Anna exclaimed as a large green portal appeared in front of the boat. Jo held onto to Taylor's arm and Lyra grabbed onto Proton for dear life as they went through it. It was a rush of wind, like a roller coaster, before they shot out into crystal blue waters, in front of a gorgeous island. Anna looked so excited, but confused at the same time. "This place..." She murmured, looking at it as they got closer.

"S-Sorry." Lyra pulled away from Proton, heart beating fast.

"Heh, scared?" Cassius smirked at Mikhail, who was clinging onto him. The demon looked happy to have the boy hugging onto him.

"I hate water and boats." Mikhail groaned, embarrassed, but kept his hold on Cassius.

Leighton laughed as they pulled up to the harbor. Cassius looked relived to see that they pulled into the castle's private harbor, and not the main harbor of the island. "Hope your mom can fix this." He muttered to Nate, who just looked back at him.

Covers Island was gorgeous. Well, the parts that Lyra saw as they made their way up to the castle. It was large and white and overlooked the ocean and town. Everything was so warm and it didn't feel real. The sun was bright and the wind was blowing gently, keeping them cool.

"I hate tropical weather." Anna whined, fanning herself. "Reminds me of home."

"It's beautiful!" Leighton beamed. "Hmp, you know, if we got married, we would have beautiful children and I could have ruled over this land." She said to Cassius, who laughed. "Though my children with Jordan will be far more beautiful."

"I don't plan on getting married and having kids any time soon." Cassius told them as they entered through the back way of the castle. "I've got to get myself fixed, but make yourselves at home." Cassius told them, leaving them with a few maids as he and Nate left.

They followed the maids up the stairs and were led to their bedrooms. Lyra and Proton were placed in the same room. Lyra was going to protest, but she had been spending almost every night sleeping in Proton's bed, so she let it slide. The rooms were blue and white and beautiful.

"I never wanna leaveeeeeee!" Lyra jumped onto the bed, sighing at how soft it was. "Why didn't I get engaged to Cassius?"

"Because he didn't even show up?" Proton questioned, thanking the maids as they set their small bags down. "Well, he was there, technically, but as my knight. Are you going to lay there all day? Or would you like to go explore with me?"

"Explore!" Lyra pushed herself off the bed excitedly. She felt safe in the castle and on the island, and she wanted to go and experience this world before she was taken out of it. She hung onto Proton's arm and he seemed annoyed by her action, but he pulled her along down the hall, going slow enough so she wouldn't stumble or trip. "Woah, check out this view!" She exclaimed as they continued down the hall. On the left, there were large open archways that led to a balcony. The ocean was so close, she could see pokemon jumping out of the water.

"This place is beautiful." Proton said, pulling her away from the view. "If you pause to look at everything, we probably won't make it out of the castle."

"But there's so much to see in here! How long will we be here?" Lyra asked, wanting to explore everything. She knew she should be working more on improving her relationships with everyone and trying to break their curses, but she wanted to enjoy her time in the game as much as she could.

"A few days. We didn't pack a lot of things." He reminded her as they walked down the hallway and down a few stairs. "Cassius just needs to get himself fixed. I'm not sure if he'll be coming back with us or not."

"What? Why not?" Lyra asked, a little distressed. Cassius and Nate were part of the deal! She had to help them lift their curses.

"Well, he is the prince of this island. He can't stay with me all of the time. He's got duties here." Proton explained, and while it made sense, Lyra wasn't happy with it.

"Trouble will follow him wherever he goes." Kassandra said as she left her room. She startled Lyra, which made the woman laugh. "Relax my dear. No need for you to get so jumpy."

"You always make me jumpy." Lyra muttered as the black haired woman walked away, going to explore the town. "They don't have many servants, like your castle." Lyra observed as they continued. "They have lots of pictures on the walls….but what's with all the curtains?" She muttered, pulling back a light blue curtain to reveal an amazing view of the town. Proton pulled it close again and shook his head. "Why do they have them closed? It's so beautiful out."

"That's just how they like it." Proton replied with a shrug. "Curtains in my castle are often closed and you never complain about it."

"Because I know soon that it will be my castle as well, honey, and you can bet allllll those windows will be wide open!" Lyra exclaimed, winking at the green haired king, who just stared at her.

"How's the wedding planning coming along, by the way?" He asked, catching her off guard. "It is in two months.."

"Oh, uh, totally smooth. No troubles at allllll." She hadn't even started to plan it.

"This is why I put Leighton in charge of it. All you have to do is pick what colors and flowers and little things like that." Proton smirked as Lyra failed to figure out a good reply. "Come on now, this way." Proton led her down a flight of stairs that led out the side of the castle. He continued down a stone path, leading into the town.

"Ah, wow!" Lyra said in awe, looking around. "It's kinda like the one back home, but somehow completely different."

"It's the tans." Taylor muttered, approaching them with Jo at his side. "I'm convinced it's the tans."

Maybe it was. Everyone was so….beautiful, even the ones with large noses or warts or anything people might find 'ugly'. Their skin just glowed. "If we stay here long enough, do you think we'll tan?"

"I know I sure as hell won't." Anna mumbled, kicking a spare pebble as she joined them. "I'm getting a weird vibe here."

"Reminds you too much of home?" Lyra questioned the girl. No one else but Jo, Kassandra, Jordan, and Lyra knew of the pale elf's past. "Yeah, the other elves I saw were really tan…what happened with you?"

"I just can't tan." Anna sighed, rubbing her arm. "Yeah, it feels just like home. It's freaking me out a bit."

"I'm sure you're just feeling like that since it's so warm and humid." Jo reassured her, hoping to make Anna feel better. "Everyone here is so friendly and kind. I wish I was born here. Things sure would be different then…"

"No need to think about that." Taylor chided, forcing a horribly fake smile when a woman walked by and smiled at the group. "I need to get off this island because it's not in my comfort zone."

"Lighten up, Tay." Jo rolled her eyes. "You're very friendly, stop acting like a stick in the mud."

"No." He muttered, crossing his arms. "I should've stayed back at the castle with Yuki."

"Then you would've distracted him. He's meeting with the kingdom's strategist. Yuki is actually useful, unlike you lot." Proton remarked.

"Don't poke fun at my court! They are very lovely!" Lyra exclaimed, defending her court. "I can't help it if you got first pick of people."

"Did you hear? The gate is going to open today!" A woman exclaimed to her friends, who all giggled and smiled. "The Prince is finally back! It's been so long since we last saw him!"

"Not since the accident, right? It will be so wonderful to see him again!"

"I wonder where he's been. Maybe he's brought home a fiancé?"

"Oh! How wonderful! His kids will be so handsome, just like him!"

"The gates?" Anna questioned, confused.

"Gates to the castle. Ever since Cassius'….accident, they've been shut most days. Especially when Cassius is home." Proton explained. "It was really difficult for him to control himself for the first few months. He felt bad that his parents and the staff of the castle had to be shut in from the world, and he felt bad for the villagers that were shut out, so he left home with Natalie when I offered up my place to him, so they could open the gates once more."

"Awah, you're such a good best friend."

"I'm the best, best friend." Proton muttered, thinking of all the bullshit Cassius had put him through in their years of friendships.

"There you guys are!" Leighton exclaimed, approaching the group swiftly. "I've been looking for all of you! We need to get back to the castle right now!"

"But we just got here." Lyra pouted.

"You'll have time to see it later! Follow me!" She ordered and turned on her heel. The group followed, of course. "The gates will be opening soon and there shall be a party! Did you all not know this?"

"We knew about the gate." Proton said. "Well, I did."

"It's a big deal, especially since Cassius is back. His allies are all going to be here to visit him, minus Lance, thank goodness. I don't know how the Queen plans all of this so suddenly and gets everyone to agree to come. I admire her skills."

"She probably knew this was going to happen far before any of us." Proton said as Leighton led the group into the side entrance of the castle.

"You all look fine in what you're wearing, so that's great." Leighton murmured, turning to look the group over. "Remember to be extra polite to the Queen and King! They're letting us stay here."

"Are we about to meet them?!" Anna exclaimed, a little worried. Meeting new people was not her thing.

"Of course we are!" Leighton said like it was obvious. Two guards opened up the large blue doors that were in front of the group. "Here we go!" She smiled brightly, stepping forward with confidence. The room was large, with white marble everywhere. Sunlight poured in from windows above and servants were rushing around busily.

"Hello!" A woman's voice echoed around the room, drawing the groups' attention to the back of the room. Lyra recognized her from Proton's coronation. She sat up straight in her chair and had long golden blonde hair. She smiled brightly at them, and the man next to him, obviously the king, smiled as well, rubbing his small brown beard. Cassius was to the left of them, sitting on his throne sideways. He didn't have his horns or tail, and had a new eye patch, so Lyra hoped he was okay. Then again, he was in his full prince attire, so he might be testy. Natalie stood by him, while a man with weird dark purple hair stood next to the Queen, and the man Lyra recognized as Tabitha stood next to the King.

"Hello." Proton called back, taking leadership of the group by strolling up to them. The Queen jumped up to hug him, while the King shook his hand.

"Yo." Cassius nodded to him, yawning. Natalie smacked his shoulder, wanting him to sit on the throne correctly. "Hey, I sit on my throne how I wanna sit. It's been such a long day, can we do the gate opening thing tomorrow? Or…never?" He grumbled, glancing towards his parents.

"Oh stop complaining." Leighton chided, shaking her head as she led the group up to them. "It's lovely to see you two again." Leighton smiled.

"It's lovely to see you again too Leighton!" The Queen exclaimed, obviously being the friendly one of the family. "My father wanted to be here to meet you all, but, he's stuck on the mainland."

"Oh, he's such a liar!" Cassius exclaimed, chucking. "Gramps hates parties."

"Whatever the reason, he won't be here." The Queen finished, smacking Cassius' shoe, but smiled at him anyway. "I'm Queen Katherine, please, just call me Kate though. This is my husband, King Drew, you can just call him Drew. Oh, and this is my knight, Brodie." She gestured to the male beside her, who bowed. "And Drew's knight, Tabitha." Tabitha bowed as well, obviously not seeing Anna's glares of hatred.

"This is Princess Lyra, though you know her, and her court. Taylor, Jo, and Anna." Leighton introduced them and Kate smiled even wider.

"Ah, they're so cute! Thank you so much for putting up with my son. He's such a troublemaker. I cannot believe Natalie hasn't killed him yet." She beamed.

"Ah, Katie, if I recall, your father has told me multiple stories about the trouble you got into when you were younger…" Drew started and Cassius grinned at his father while Kate looked embarrassed.

"I didn't get curses placed on me."

"That was a minor fluke." Cassius started, sounding more like his normal self. "Right Nate? Minor setback, an adventure, a challenge. Ya know, gotta keep life interestin'."

"Your outlook on things is…worrying." Jordan commented, coming into the room with Mikhail from a side door. Cassius smiled at Mikhail who smiled embarrassedly back at him as they joined the group.

"This is Jordan. He's of my court, and Mikhail is of Lyra's court." Proton introduced the two males. "Where's Yuki?"

"He's with Marlon discussing the battle front. I know that Sabrina will be joining Jasmine tonight, so all three of them will probably be able to work at a wonderful plan." Drew explained.

"We'll try, boss!" A male voice exclaimed, and an extremely tan boy with dark blue hair entered the room with Yuki.

"Oh my god." Anna murmured, staring at the boy, who also had dark blue wolf ears and a dark blue tail.

"Dude! Ya'll didn't tell me ya'll were here!" He called out to Cassius and Natalie. Cassius swung his feet off the side of the chair and jumped up, grinning. The werewolf ran past the group and pulled Cassius and Natalie into a big bear hug, his tail wagging quickly.

"This is Marlon, our war strategist. As I'm sure you can tell, he's also a werewolf." Kate explained and they all looked to Anna, who just stared at Marlon.

"Look, you finally got your werewolf." Yuki shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Where's Kassandra? We'll need her for the war meeting."

"She's in town, I think. I saw her down there with a large crowd around her." Jo answered.

"She knows when the party starts, no need to worry. Let her have some fun." Leighton told them as Marlon finally let the two blondes go. Cassius slumped back into his chair and Natalie glared at the boy.

"Still not fixed yet?" Marlon asked and both shook their heads. "Bummer. Ya'll will get fixed soon! How hard could it be to get people to fall in love with you?" he questioned, then started laughing. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."

"Yes ya did, ya ass." Cassius grumbled, adjusting his crown on his head. "Everyone loves me, there's no problem there."

"Psh, no angel will fall for your charm." Marlon muttered and was smacked by Nate, who then grabbed one of his furry ears and yanked him down.

"Say sorry." Silver growled for Nate.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwww!" He howled, struggling in the girl's tight grip. "Sorry sorry sorryyyyy!" She let him go before she sat down on the armrest of Cassius' throne, rolling her eyes.

"Those two boys would be dead somewhere without you Natalie." Kate said, praising the girl. "Anna, dear, are you alright?"

"She loves werewolves." Yuki told the queen and Marlon turned to face them, smirking and winking at Anna, who just froze.

"Did he wink at me?" She asked Jo, who nodded her head. "Oh….."

"Ya can't eat her." Cassius smirked and Marlon turned to face him quickly, growling.

"I don't eat people! I don't eat people." He looked at the group to reassure them of this. "You eat people all the time!"

"I eat half of people!" Cassius replied as the two began to arguing back and forth.

"Believe it or not, they are best friends." Drew muttered, shaking his head.

"I can believe it." Jordan said, eyebrows raised.

"You know, I've always wondered…how can you tell when someone is an angel?" Lyra questioned, thinking it over. "I know many of them don't have wings…but…do they have halos?"

"I don't believe so." Kate said, thinking. "Angels are very regal creatures, blessed with both beauty and kindness. Some people, you just look at them, and you know they're an angel. Others are more hidden. Sometimes a person doesn't even know that they're an angel."

"Then again, you have people who are part angel, or a fourth angel. They still count as an angel, nonetheless." Drew added, nodding his head. "Two demons can produce an angel, angels only produce angels though."

"And a demon and an angel will produce a hybrid of sorts, a child that is both angel and demon." Taylor said and Drew agreed.

"I didn't know you knew about angels and demons." Jo told Taylor, who just shrugged, brushing it off.

"It's almost time for the gates to be opened!" Kate exclaimed, glancing at the clock. "Our guests will be here very soon! Oh, I bet the whole kingdom is excited to see you again. It's been so long since they've gotten to see you." She said to Cassius, who had stopped arguing with Marlon. He frowned and looked up to Natalie. She stood and fixed his crown, so it was straight and not tilted. He just sighed and crossed his arms.

"Oh, food!" Marlon and Anna said at the same time as tables were brought out with tons of food on them. They looked at each other and Marlon smiled while Anna blushed, looking away nervously.

"Ms. Trish fixed you up just fine. You just need to be more careful." Kate continued. "All you have to go is go out to the front courtyard and let everyone see you. Maybe speak a little. Maybe go and interact with them."

"I know. I'm careful." Cassius grumbled and Tabitha and Brodie both tried to hold back a laugh. Cassius glared at them, shutting them up. "Let's just get this over with." He groaned, standing up.

"Don't step on your cape!" She said. "Let me fix your collar. Oh, you're so grown." She murmured and Lyra smiled.

"Momma." He muttered, glaring as she brushed off his sleeve, trying to get the wrinkles out. "Mother."

"Katie, sweetie. It's not like he's becoming king." Drew said, trying to help his son out. "He is twenty-one. Not seventeen."

"He'll be king someday and look at him!" She exclaimed. "His hair is messed up and Cassius I swear if you do not stop touching your crown I'm goin' smack ya." She threatened.

"Okay, gramps." He muttered. "Ya sound just like your dad." He continued and she sat down quickly.

"Oh my…I sound just like my father." She mumbled, embarrassed. Cassius laughed and cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders back as well.

"I want to come!" Leighton exclaimed. "I want to see their reaction!"

"I wanna come too!" Lyra added. "Can we go?"

"Uh, sure." Cassius said, surprised by the two girls. Lyra hoped that she and Leighton's presence would make Cassius less nervous and worried. "You're comin' too, right?" He asked Mikhail, taking hold of his hand. Mikhail looked taken back by the question.

"Uh, yeah, of course!" Mikhail nodded his head as Cassius squeezed his hand tightly before letting it go.

"If I drain their souls from their bodies, it's your fault." He said to his parents before sighed deeply and walking towards the large double doors. Natalie hurried after him, following him closely as Mikhail, Leighton, and Lyra trailed behind them both.

They walked down the long hallway, which led to the entrance. The doors opened for them and they walked out onto the balcony. Lyra looked over the courtyard. It had a beautiful fountain in the middle and was empty. She glanced to the stairs, wondering if Cassius would actually go down them to actually interact with the villagers or not.

"Tell the guards…to open up the gates!" Cassius shouted, gripping the railing tightly.

* * *

><p><strong>There'll be action and pokemon in the next chapter.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

Lyra watched as much of the kingdom rushed in through the gates, cheering as they saw Cassius. He frowned for a moment but then put on a big smile and went down the stairs, surprising Leighton, Lyra, and Mikhail. Natalie followed him closely, making sure he was safe.

He actually looked happy as he spoke to some of them and Lyra wondered if it was an act or not. "He doesn't know that we looked into his memory, does he?"

"I don't believe he does. I don't think Natalie knows either." Leighton replied, waving at a few people. They observed Cassius for a good while until he came back up the stairs.

"They said I've gotten even more handsome. I don't know how that's even possible since I was so gorgeous before." Cassius smirked, taking a complete 180 turn from how he had been acting before. Lyra wondering if this was an act as well.

They returned inside to where the party was being held. Cassius was immediately greeted by many diplomats. Lyra found Proton, taking his hand gently as he spoke to a man she didn't recognize. He looked down at her and gave her a soft smile before introducing her to the man, who bowed and introduced himself.

Anna was by the food table, oblivious to the fact that Marlon was flirting with her, or trying too. Kassandra was speaking to King Grimsley and he seemed very interested in what she was talking about. Maybe she was predicting his future or something along those lines? Yuki was talking to a girl with long dark blue or black hair, maybe even dark purple hair, Lyra couldn't tell. The two were very into their conversation, and Lyra wondering if maybe that was Sabrina he was talking to? If it was, it meant that Jasmine was here.

"Lyra!" Jasmine exclaimed, and Lyra excused herself from Proton and the man that she had already forgotten the name of to go speak to Jasmine. "I'm so happy you're here. It's gets so boring to see the same old people at every party."

"I'm happy to see you two. I really don't know, or remember, a lot of these people. Hey, where's Volkner?" Lyra questioned, not seeing the blond knight.

"He's over there with Natalie." She smirked, nodding her head towards the two. Natalie seemed surprised that Volkner was talking to her. "He's been wanting to talk to her one on one for forever now."

"He doesn't care about her mouth?" Lyra questioned, starting to feel hopeful for Nate.

"Of course not. He still thinks she's beautiful." Jasmine smiled at her knight, proud of him. "It's good to see that everyone is enjoying themselves. I do wish that Sabrina and Yuki and Marlon got to enjoy the party more." She mumbled as she watched the three head off to go discuss the war plans. "Kassandra as well. I think King Grimsley has taken a liking to her. Proton should watch out! He might try to get her to join his court." She giggled as Kassandra followed the other three and Grimsley watched her go. "She's very beautiful and talented. She's a real gem!"

"She is very special." Lyra agreed as Kassandra disappeared from their view.

"It's just so lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves." Jasmine sighed happily, looking around the room at everyone. Jo was spinning Taylor around, laughing and giggling as they danced. Lyra suspected that Taylor would be annoyed, but he looked incredibly happy and was smiling widely at Jo. "He's so in love with her…..I want a guy to look at me like that."

"You think?" Lyra questioned, not even thinking that.

"Uh, yeah, duh Lyra." Ethan's voice came into her right ear. The pesky fairy had been leaving her alone lately, seeing as she was getting a hang of everything pretty easily.

"Well, Taylor isn't just a normal human." Jasmine said, lowering her voice so only Lyra could hear. "I can tell."

"What is he?"

"Ah, that is something I don't know. He's a hybrid of some sorts." Jasmine told her as Mikhail was grabbed by Cassius and spun across the dance floor.

"C'mon, I taught ya how to dance!" Cassius exclaimed, laughing as he pulled Mikhail close to him.

"Look at how Cassius looks at Mikhail too! It's so cute!" She squealed, referring to Cassius and Mikhail, and also Taylor and Jo. "Demons are such odd creatures." She murmured, glancing at both Cassius and Taylor. "They grow so attached to certain things, even people."

"Are you implying that Taylor is a demon?" Lyra questioned, her voice low now. Maybe his hunting trips were him getting souls?

"Part demon, possibly." Jasmine nodded her head. "He's something else too though. I just….I think it might be angel….I just can't tell. He doesn't look to be like Cassius at all, but he has this….air about him."

"Wait, really?" Lyra asked, wanting to know more, but there were screams from the court yard and guards were rushing out of the room to go investigate.

"Let's go!" Cassius exclaimed, grabbing Natalie's attention.

"Your highness, you really need to stay here where's its safe." A man said but Cassius brushed past him and he and Nate were out the door.

"Oh hell." Marlon grumbled running after them with Yuki and Sabrina right after them.

* * *

><p>"Kassandra, watch her." Proton ordered the woman, who had returned earlier after the first screams were heard. She knew it was going to happen, though no one seemed to believe her. "She's under your protection. Jordan, Mikhail, let's go. Taylor, you too." Proton ordered the males to follow him, despite the protests from a few members of the staff.<p>

Proton was not in the mood for this shit.

He really wasn't.

He had been enjoying himself, chatting with everyone, watching Lyra laugh with Jasmine, and watch his other friends actually enjoy themselves, but then there were screams and Cassius was more than happy to investigate, and either though he had Natalie with him, Proton wasn't going to let them get themselves killed so easily. The two blondes were a ticking time bomb ready to explode. He rolled his eyes.

The courtyard was filled with monsters and the annoying orbs. Yuki was shouting out orders. Some guards were slow to listen to him, but the second Cassius started yelling at them to listen to the black haired boy, they listened. Natalie was ordering others to help the civilians, while also trying to make sure Cassius didn't get himself injured as he eagerly jumped into battle.

"I'm glad I don't have her job." Mikhail muttered, getting his bow ready and keeping his charmander on his shoulder. He hurried to battle, lighting his arrows on fire to damage the monsters more. Jordan set to work protecting the civilians with his magic as they tried to escape. Taylor wasn't happy to have to battle, but one glare from Proton and he was out on the battle field, ordering his pokemon to assist him.

Proton watched, because he wasn't getting in the mess. Yuki could handle all of this just fine, that's why Proton made him part of his court. Yuki was skilled like no other, able to wield his dual swords and command an army at the same time. He was extremely lucky to have him.

He was lucky to have Kassandra as well, and knew that his future wife would be in safe hands with the prophet witch. The woman was beautiful and could charm any man, or woman, but was powerful beyond belief. He had to make sure King Grimsley didn't try to steal her away.

He watched Mikhail set fire to the monsters and Taylor slash through them, sucking their souls into a pouch. Proton really had to ask him what he used the souls for, other than torturing Cassius with them. He had a feeling it had to do with Jo, but he didn't want to assume anything before he actually knew.

"Yuki, end this fast, please." Proton called out to Yuki, who nodded in replied and began giving out orders. This was ridiculous. Couldn't the head of the guard, Tabitha, actually do something? Marlon, Yuki, and Sabrina were ordering everyone around, and they were far younger than Tabitha. Must be a blow to the man's ego. Proton chuckled. He didn't care for how the male felt. He hated him for breaking Natalie's heart.

There were screams heard inside the castle and Proton turned on his heel and _ran _into the building, sprinting as fast as he possibly could. He burst into room, seeing three orbs floating in the air releasing monsters into the room. Kassandra was doing her best to contain the monsters, casting a small protection spell to protect the diplomats and royals, but it was a lot of work and Proton knew she couldn't last long. Jo was trying to help her, but it was too much for the two witches to handle. Marlon ran in, launching himself at an orc, tackling it to the ground before it could attack Anna, who screamed. She pulled out a dagger, just to protect herself, but she wasn't a fighter.

Volkner was fighting them off, doing a pretty decent job, but Proton knew he needed help and drew he sword to begin to fight off the monsters.

"Your highness, my spell is weakening!" Kassandra exclaimed, nervously looking at the green haired king. "I don't know why. The orbs are weakening my magic I believe!"

"Just try to hold them off!" He replied, sending out his crobat and houndoom. Pokemon usually weren't used to fight monsters, but his were. Volkner's luxray was paralyzing monsters as Marlon got to work destroying the obs. Yuki ran into the room, Proton figured it was alright enough outside, to assist Marlon and Taylor followed, going straight to Jo who was trying to help Kassandra keep the spell going. He guarded the two spell casters, taking some stress off of them.

"Lyra, are you okay?" Proton asked, after slashing a monster in two. He hurried over to his fiancé, who looked terrified.

"I'm totally, fine, you know, having a blast." She squeaked out as a few guards came into the room to help fight off the monsters. The King and Queen were behind the barrier with everyone else, though the queen kept trying to push out and help fight. Lyra looked terrified and screamed as a monster came up from behind Proton. He turned around, slashing it in two pieces, like he had done to the monsters before.

"It's going to be fine. Let's get them out through the back way!" He shouted. Mikhail was back inside now, and rushed over with two guards. They began to usher them out through the back door, trying to get them to safety so Kassandra and Jo could help fight off the orbs and monsters. Another orb suddenly appeared, and they were put under more pressure. "Mikhail, you take good care of her." Proton told the spikey haired blond boy, glancing at Lyra before staring at him, firm and hard.

"I-I will!" He nodded his head, herding the group out to safety. Proton turned around and continued to fight, though he really wanted to go with Lyra to make sure she was safe. Leighton and Jasmine and the others were with Lyra, so he knew she would be okay, it still worried him though. He didn't know when he actually began to feel feelings towards the princess, but they were there.

So were more monsters.

Urg, they were so annoying.

"I don't know where these orbs are coming from!" Yuki called out to him. The teenager stayed calm while Marlon pounced on another monster, using his claws to kill it. Covers Island was a beautiful place, though they could tend to be more…savage when fighting monsters. He had seen Cassius fight when he was a demon, and it was anything but pleasant.

"Jo, go with the group, you too Kassandra! Protect them!" He ordered the two, who ran after the group. While he wished they could stay and help, they were far more useful with the group. The group just weren't civilians, they were rulers of kingdoms and diplomats who were extremely important.

Taylor was quickly mowing down monsters. "I need to be with Jo." He told Proton, slamming the end of his sword through a monster. "I need to be with her." He repeated, more firmly. Proton wanted Taylor to stay with them and help them, but he knew the boy wouldn't take no for an answer, and he had a feeling that Taylor might go a bit mad if he wasn't with the blue haired witch.

"Then go." He muttered and Taylor ran off. Now he was down three people.

"Where are the King and Queen?" Tabitha asked, appearing beside him.

"Out the back way." Proton replied stiffly, attacking another monster as Yuki destroyed another orb.

"Brodie! Get over here, they went this way!" Tabitha called the purple haired male over. "Natalie, you too!" Brodie ran out the backway and Natalie came into the room, Cassius right behind her.

"No, I stay by Cassius' side!" She shouted back, ready to attack the monsters.

Tabitha looked annoyed, shaking his head at her. "Bring him!"

"I fight!" Cassius yelled, eyes lighting up as he swung his sword at an orc. Who knows? He could be sucking up their souls as he goes. That would actually be very helpful and Proton prayed that it was what he was doing.

Tabitha looked pissed now, but followed Brodie and left Natalie and Cassius to fight the monsters.

Sabrina and Jordan reappeared in the room now, going to help Yuki and Marlon get rid of the last orb. Once all the monsters were sent back to where they belong, clean up began.

"Where's Mikhail?" Cassius asked and Proton could see the worry in his best friend's eyes.

"He's with the others, protecting the diplomats and royals. He's fine, don't get worked up." Proton said, hoping to calm him down. "How come this always seems to happen?" He grumbled, looking around the room.

"Maybe we're bad luck?" Yuki questioned, approaching the king and prince.

Proton was starting to think he was right.

* * *

><p><strong>Look.<strong>

**I did action. **

**AND FORESHADOWING HAHAHAHA I really just wanted to make Cassius unleash his demon and make it a total bloodbath but the monsters don't bled and that'd be horrible and weird so teamwork worked better. **

**My allergies are killing me, pollen surrounds me. My BETA reader is outta town so I'm sorry for mistakes and the slowness of updates. **


	11. Chapter 11

**I know the memories scenes are hard to follow. I wanted to do them all in italics, but then it wouldn't make sense.**

* * *

><p>Lyra curled up next to Proton in bed that night, sighing.<p>

"I know." Proton muttered, flipping a page in his book. Lyra sighed again and then stretched out on the large bed. Proton couldn't tell if she was bored or annoyed.

"Where did the monsters come from?" Lyra asked, hoping Proton or Ethan would answer. Ethan had been disappearing a lot more lately. Possibly because she didn't need his help as much anymore?

"Ms. Trish, Natalie's mother and head witch here on the island, was off the island today. She's returning home at once to help try and solve this. The same thing happened back at our castle. It's dangerous to be like sitting ducklings here." He explained, petting his houndoom that was curled up by his feet, before Proton turned off the lamp on his nightstand and placed his book on it. "There's no sense worrying, though. You're well protected."

"I know, but what about Anna? What about Kassandra and Jo when their powers fail? Kassandra said her magic was being weakened by the orbs or one of the monsters, didn't she?" Lyra asked, concerned more for her friends.

"Marlon protected Anna today, and Taylor watched Jo and Kassandra's backs for them." Proton replied, trying to stop her from worrying. Lyra frowned and turned on her side, not satisfied with his answer. Many of the royals were annoyed, because they couldn't fight. Grimsley was one of the most annoyed, alongside Kate and Jasmine. Lyra felt that maybe if they were allowed to fight, there would have been less stress on Jo and Kassandra.

The two went straight to bed after it was all cleaned up and everyone was sent to their bedrooms for the evening. Anna had stayed around with Marlon, thanking him for helping her, and him offering to teach her how to at least defend herself against monsters.

Yuki and Sabrina had went to work straight away to figure out where the monsters came from. Once Ms. Trish arrives in the morning, they should be able to come up with a good explanation. Lyra pushed the thoughts out of her mind and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Seems you and Proton are getting close?" Leighton questioned, sliding up next to Lyra. It was the next morning and most of the group were trying to figure out where the monsters came from. Kassandra couldn't even see it clearly in a vision, and she had been looking out for something like this to happen. Ms. Trish believed it was one of the monsters blocking her vision, also weakening her and Jo's magic.<p>

Lyra was leaning against the railing on the balcony, looking over at the ocean. She glanced behind her, where Proton was speaking to a guard. "Uhm, sorta. I mean. I'm going to marry him, so…"

"Do you two know a lot about each other?" Leighton asked as Jo and Anna approached them.

"I'm telling you, he's so hitting on you." Jo muttered, rolling her eyes at Anna.

"Are you sure? I'm not exactly sure that's what he's doing." Anna mumbled, unsure.

"She's so dense to these things." Jo said, shaking her head at Anna, who just pouted and crossed her arms.

"I know enough about him. Sorta." Lyra continued and realized that she barely knew anything about Proton. "I'll just ask him though, no big deal."

"Jo! You should so work your magic so we can see his memories! Proton won't ever be fully honest with you Lyra, this is the only way." Leighton began and Lyra wasn't so sure that this was the best idea.

"Eh, maybeeeee." Jo sighed. "Jordan and Kassandra are busy at the moment and there's no way I could do something like that by myself. Besides, I doubt Proton will let us do it." Jo continued.

"Then just put him to sleep like we did with Natalie!" Anna exclaimed and Leighton shushed her, glancing around to make sure the others in the room didn't hear.

"Shush about that! Cas and Nate don't remember that we peaked into their memories, and if they found out, they'd be so pissed." Leighton explained.

"I'd be pissed too. They were pretty private memories." Jo muttered.

"They were, but they really help me in trying to help break the curses." Lyra piped in. "Looking into everyone's memories, while it is invasive, helps us understand one another and understand the curses. Buttttttt, Proton doesn't have a curse on him, so there's no reason that we need to invade his memories."

"Hey, you don't know that." Leighton muttered. "Okay, no, he's not cursed, but he could know things we don't about each other or something like that!"

"Maybe, once things calm down a bit around here, I'll talk to Kassandra and Jordan about it." Jo offered, but she was sure the other two would not agree to do it.

"What are you ladies talking about out here?" The Queen, Kate, asked as she approached them. She had her golden blonde hair pulled back in a braid and was wearing a more simple gown than she had been yesterday.

"About how Jo, Jordan, and Kassandra are able to display people's memories!" Anna exclaimed. Leighton made a face, but then smirked.

"It's really amazing, Kate. You should see them do it." Leighton added, hoping to get the queen on their side. "We were discussing doing it to Proton, since I'm sure Lyra doesn't know much about Proton, even though their wedding is fast approaching."

"That does sound very interesting." Kate said, turning to Jo to nod her approval. "Yet, I'm not quite sure that Proton will be very happy about everyone watching his memories."

"He won't know that we're doing it." Leighton replied swiftly. "I know that Jordan and Kassandra are busy now, but I was hoping that they won't be tonight."

"Oh, well I'll make sure that Ms. Trish doesn't keep them too long then!" Kate smiled. "Please get his permission first though." She said before she turned and went back into the throne room to see how everything was going.

"You're horrible." Jo muttered to Leighton, who just smirked.

* * *

><p>"So what's up?" Cassius asked, plopping down onto a plush chair. Everyone was outside, on one of the many balconies of the castle. This one had the best view of the ocean and had plush sofas and chairs to sit on, perfect for this. Kate and Paul were there as well, along with Brodie and Tabitha. Tabitha looked pissed as hell, but the devious glances that Marlon and Anna were shooting each other, let Lyra know that the two had obviously been the cause of the knight's foul mood.<p>

Nate, who was sitting down on the arm of Cassius' chair, looked a little tired. Proton sat next to Lyra on a love seat, and he was just as confused as Cassius was. However, he was out like a light the second Jordan tapped his head. His sleeping body leaned against Lyra.

"What the hell?" Cassius asked, glaring at the warlock. "What did you do to him?"

"Relax, he's asleep. It makes it way easier, actually." Kassandra told the prince in a relaxed tone. "We're taking a peep into his memories. The King and Queen want to see how this works."

"So you chose Proton?" Cassius looked irritated and Lyra took a guess that no, he had not eaten any of the monsters' souls in last night's battle.

"He said it was fine!" Leighton piped in, lying through her teeth as they got in position to do the trick. Taylor rolled his eyes at this, even he knew Proton would never agree to this.

"Silence." Jordan said as the three concentrated. The king and queen looked amazed as the screen appeared, as did Brodie and Tabitha.

The mood in the room changed dramatically to one of sadness as the screen began to show the memory. "Oh dear." Kate mumbled, obviously knowing what it was.

"_I'm sorry about your mother." _A man who looked to be the king of another kingdom to a young green haired male_. _Lyra, and the others, instantly realized what it was_. "She was an amazing woman."_

"_Thank you." _The young Proton mumbled. He stood,next to who Lyra assumed was his father. He looked to be in horrible shape. Lyra would be too if her partner had just died as well.

"This is an invasive of privacy." Cassius started, but his mother quietened him.

"_Hey." _Proton's hand was grabbed another young boy, one with messy blond hair and was obviously Cassius. Proton didn't say anything, he just squeezed the other boy's hand. _"It's goin' be fine. Nate and I are here for ya. We ain't goin' let anyone get you." _

Memories of a woman with long green hair flooded the screen. She was beautiful and always smiling. Proton looked just like his mom.

"This is too much." Anna teared up and Marlon gave her a tissue.

The scene changed, but this one wasn't any better.

"_What do you mean he's gone?!" _An older teen Proton growled to a man.

"_Proton, I'm sorry. I don't know where your father has gone! I'm his own brother and he didn't even tell me!"_ The man replied, putting his hand on Proton's shoulder. _"They didn't want to tell you, which is absurd."_

"_I won't have to be king, yet, will I?"_ He looked panicked.

"_No, no, of course not. I'll fill in for king and when you turned twenty one, you will become king. I'll teach you everything you need to know. I know your father has been distant these last couples of years…ever since your mother died, the light has left his eyes. We have search parties looking for him now, so you need not worry." _

"_I'm not." _Proton said and it was harsh and cold. _"He hasn't looked me in the eye since mother died. I look far too much like her. It's painful for him to be near me. Let him be." _

"_But, Proton…" _His uncle tried to reason, but Proton shook his head. _"Our allies shall arrive shortly for the meeting about this. I have to be caught up on all the business of this kingdom and our allies' kingdoms as well. Will you be joining me?" _

"They got over it fast." Taylor muttered, slightly surprised.

"You can't mull over things like that." Paul replied. "Your kingdom's well-being comes first."

"_No, I can't stand to see their looks again." _He muttered, thinking of the pathetic looks he received during his mother's funeral. He was tired of people feeling sorry for him. He turned towards Cassius and Natalie. _"What are you two doing here?"_

"_To protect you, of course! You think I'd let my best bro be alone durin' this time?"_ Cassius asked, grabbing a hold of Proton's hand like he had years ago. _"We raced over the second we heard about it."_

"Please tell me there's some happy memories in his head." Leighton was starting to feel guilty for doing this, even as memories of Cassius and Proton, some including Marlon and Natalie, appeared on the screen. The memories were mostly at Cassius' castle. Many of them were of them laughing and exploring, with Cassius and Marlon causing trouble while Natalie and Proton rushed to fix whatever the two boys had done. Some were of Proton sleeping with Cassius, which were funny because Cas was sprawled out on the bed while Proton laid there annoyed before finally pushing Cas off the bed.

"He's such a jerk." Cas muttered while everyone else laughed while the scene changed. "Hey…wait a second." He said, looking nervous.

This memory was more recent, probably a few months old. Proton was walking down the hallway of Cassius' castle, noticing the lack of staff and how all the curtains were drawn. He knew something was wrong with Cassius, Natalie too. Cassius was usually decent with controlling his demon, but, he hadn't heard from his friend in a week, and that was surprising since he always seemed to be causing some trouble somewhere.

"What's wrong?" Mikhail questioned looking at Cassius with a worried expression. Cassius gripped the arms of his chair.

"This one has me in it."

"They all have you in them." Taylor replied, shrugging.

"_Cassius?" _Proton questioned, knocking on his bedroom door. He didn't wait for a reply and opened the door, freezing when he saw his friend standing there. The mirror in the corner of his room was broken and the shattered glass was all over the floor, some pieces bloody.

"_G-Get out!" _Proton was taken back at the voice, but took a step forward anyway. Cassius turned around to face him.

"_Oh god Cassius." _Proton muttered, seeing his friend's black horns, tail, and blood red eyes. He was shaking, his knuckles bloody as he gripped his arms tightly, hunching over. _"What happened?"_

"_I'm loosing myself."_ Cassius broke down and Proton hurried to catch him before he fell to his knees. _"I can't do this."_

"_Shush, of course you can."_ Proton mumbled, moving him towards the bathroom to clean off his knuckles and wrap them in bandages. _"Natalie and I are going to protect you."_ He said gently as Cassius cried.

Cassius was frozen in his chair, looking mortified and Lyra wished that Mikhail was sitting next to Cassius and not across from him so he could calm him down. Everyone was silent, because honestly, what was there to say?

The next memory was one Lyra recognized. It the day she first met Proton. Everyone got a nervous feeling in their stomach. Lyra hadn't realized Proton was nervous that day. Proton glanced to Lance, annoyed at his confidence, but he couldn't really blame him. He didn't even know why he was doing this. When Lyra chose Proton, he was actually surprised, it made her laugh a little when saw and felt it through his point of view.

The next few memories were all ones she and almost everyone else knew, just with Proton's feelings and point of view. Lyra was so happy that these memories were better and that he was actually happy during them (some of them, not including the monsters that crashed his coronation or Cassius snapping on Lance), even though he didn't really show it. All this time she thought she might be annoying him, but he was pleased to have her around.

Lyra looked to Proton, who was still asleep. All she wanted to do was hug him. He had gone through so much, but he still was the best friend he could be and the best fiancé as well. He had taken in some many cursed people who had nowhere else to really go, and he treated her so well. Yet, here she was, invading his memories. "Turn it off." She said, and they listened to her.

Cassius looked to be in an even worse mood, now that his parents knew of his snapping and trying to kill Lance. Jo sighed, rubbing her temples. All three of them looked to be tired, which didn't surprise Lyra that much.

"I leave for one day and everything goes to hell." A male voice boomed from behind them. They all turned to see an older man with his hands behind his back. He had ocean blue eyes and gray hair and looked annoyed.

"We're figuring out why the monsters came as we speak, father." Kate sighed, standing now.

"I swear, gramps, I had nothing to do with it." Cassius held his hands up in defense. He looked relieved that the man was here now to distract them all from the memories.

"I bet you did, you delinquent. Your partner in crime looks suspicious." He looked to Marlon, who just grinned back. "But I'm sure Natalie has kept you two in line. Now, why is Proton knocked out cold while you kids rummage through his memories? Who the hell are y'all?"

"Dad, this is Princess Lyra, she's engaged to Proton, and that is Princess Leighton." Kate rolled her eyes as she approached her father. "The others are members of their court. Kassandra, Jordan, Jo, Yuki, Taylor, Anna, and Mikhail." She pointed to each person as she said their name.

"I know who Yuki is. How are you doin', son?" He questioned the young male, who just nodded his head in response. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Mr. Hughes. I used to be king until I got tired of it and let my daughter take the throne. No need to formally address me or nonsense like that, Mr. Hughes is fine."

"It's lovely to meet you." Leighton spoke first, smiling brightly at him. Lyra was a little more nervous now. She hadn't realized that Proton practically grew up around Cassius' family, that he was family to them. She hoped they liked her.

"So you'll be marrying Proton?" He said, approaching Lyra now, glancing at the sleeping Proton. "Well, from what I saw from those memories, you seem like a good girl. I do hope you make a fine queen."

"I-I'll try my best." She said nervously.

"Good, now, get Proton to his room so he doesn't have a neck cramp. Kate, Paul, I need to speak with you two." He turned and walked away. Kate and Paul followed him quickly, as did Brodie and Tabitha.

"Come on Nate." Cassius spoke, standing up. He pulled Proton onto his back and in no time flat the two were out of sight.

"He's going to be mad when he wakes up." Jo mumbled, sighing into her hands.

"I don't blame him. It was a horrible idea to do that." Yuki chided them, speaking up. He looked annoyed as he stood and left the balcony. Lyra went after him, wanting to speak with him. She hadn't really gotten to speak to Yuki one on one before, but Jo had told her that he was from her world, so maybe he could help her.

"Yuki?" She questioned, finally catching up to him. "Jo told me you weren't from…around here…you know…this…world.." She hoped she wasn't coming off to weird. He looked surprised and a little nervous. "I'm from the other world too!" She said quickly, and he looked relieved.

"I'm from Tokyo." He told her, glancing around to make sure no one was listening as they continued down the hallway. "I was playing my game when it froze. I don't really remember exactly, but I felt super tired and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of a forest with Proton hovering over me, asking if I was okay and telling me I ran into a hanging tree branch." He explained, pushing his black bangs out of his face, though they just fell back into place. "Luckily I could play the 'hit my head so I don't remember some things' card, and it turns out I was his strategist for war."

"Really?" Lyra questioned, interested. "Do you have a fairy that follows you around and tell you things? I do, well, did sorta. Now that I've got the hang of the game, he doesn't show up much anymore."

"No, but my eyes turned red. I used to have green eyes, believe it or not." He told her, shrugging. "I kinda wish I had gotten a guide fairy. It would've made things a lot easier."

"You fit in really well though!"

"You think? I was only in the game for three days when I heard about you and Proton getting engaged, which is what I'm guessing your first day in the game." Yuki said and Lyra nodded her head. "It's weird and I can't get used to not using pokemon as my form of attack. I kind of wish the game developers didn't make them more like pets, it's annoying."

"I feel ya." Lyra agreed. "You looked really mad a few minutes ago when we were on the balcony." She changed the topic.

"I was angry. Proton is a really great guy and he's incredibly kind to me. I don't like seeing him being taken advantage of or things like that."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was going to be like that." Lyra apologized, feeling guilty.

"I understand." Yuki nodded his head, not wanting to stay angry with her. "In some ways, it was good that it happened, because I'm not entirely sure that Proton would have let you in that much and tell you how he felt about everything. Then again, he'll be angry when he finds out what happens, and Cassius is probably angry as well that they showed some bad things of him. It could also trigger him and Nate's memory and make them remember that you guys basically did the same thing to them that you just did to Proton."

"Oh god…I didn't even think about that." Lyra groaned, head in her hands. "I've got too much on my plate now. I gotta fix everyone's curses or I'll never get out of this world."

"Is that so bad?" Yuki questioned. "I mean, I miss my brother and sister a lot…..but it's really great here too."

"It is nice being a princess…" Lyra muttered, but then shook her head. "No, I gotta get back home." She declared, trying to be reasonable.

"I think when you beat it, I also win." Yuki said. "So we'll both get out at the same time. God, I bet we'll think it was a crazy dream…"

* * *

><p>Proton, currently, was not speaking to anyone except for Yuki, Cassius, and Natalie.<p>

He remembered everything, including every single memory that had been shared.

He was not happy. Far from it, actually.

"Look, I'm really sorry Proton." Lyra apologized again as she followed him down one of the many halls. "I didn't wanna do it at first, but then I got talked into it, then I realized how horrible it was and made them stop."

"Not until everyone got to see my most painful memories." He growled, turning to face her. Lyra had never seen him angry at her before. "Lyra, if you just wanted to know more about me, why didn't you ask?" He sighed, facing away from her. He really wanted to stay mad at her, but he was finding it difficult to.

"I didn't think you'd tell me." She mumbled, ashamed of herself. At least he was speaking to her. "I didn't know they were going to show those memories."

"Well what memories did you think they were going to show?" He asked, now looking back to her. "I would've been fine if it had been less personal ones. I didn't want my mother's funeral on the screen for everyone to see, or my father leaving me, or my best friend having a mental breakdown!"

"I really didn't know they were going to show that last one." Lyra told him. "I'm so sorry, Proton, really I am. Please forgive me."

"Just don't do that ever again, alright? I want to be able to trust you." Proton said before he continued down the hall. Lyra raced after him and the two entered the dining room right on time. Anna was tossing pieces of bread into the air, letting her braviary catch them as he flew around. Kate found it highly amusing, while Leighton begged her to stop doing it.

"You know, Anna, there is a clan of elves that live in the forests of this island." Paul brought up, looking at the young elf. "You're far paler than they are, but they all have braviaries as well."

"Really?!" She exclaimed, surprised. "I knew it! I knew this place was familiar!"

"This is where you're from?" Taylor questioned. "Why aren't you tan?"

"Why are you so obsessed with tans?" Anna asked back, crossing her arms. "I just don't tan. I really can't believe I'm back home.."

"Don't you want to go visit your family?" Jordan asked her before taking a bite of his piece of bread. Proton and Lyra sat across from one another at the long rectangle table that was filled with food.

"I….I can't. I was banned and stripped of my clan name. I cannot return until I break my curse." Anna explained, looking at her plate. "But I can do it! I just gotta find the one thing I can't steal!" Leighton wanted to laugh at this because she had been spending the whole trip returning things that Anna had snatched up back to their original spots and owners.

"You sure do have a castle full of curses, don't you?" Mr. Hughes asked as Cassius began speaking to Mikhail, who just looked at him nervously and fumbled over his words.

"I just attract them." Proton shrugged, avoiding having to speak with anyone else at the table, especially Leighton. Volkner stood next to Nate, right behind where Cassius and Jasmine were seated, and he leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Silver laughed for Nate, and did the same to him. It made Lyra smile, but Tabitha looked annoyed.

"You know, the people of Covers Island and the elves of this island are related in some ways." Kate smiled at Anna. "You could be a distant relative of us, so that counts as family."

"Yeah…you guys could be like long long long lost cousins or something!" She exclaimed, turning to Natalie and Cassius. "That's really cool!"

"That is pretty interesting." Silver said for Nate as the knight nodded her head. Cassius wasn't really speaking to the others either, except for Proton, Natalie, and Mikhail. Also Jasmine and Volkner, since they weren't there to see the memories. Lyra guessed he was pissed or embarrassed, probably a mixture of both.

A guard came in after this and handed a letter to Proton before leaving again quickly. Proton read the address and rolled his eyes, before he opened the letter and begin to read it.

"What does it say?" Lyra asked, curios. He looked annoyed as he read it, but he was always annoyed.

"It's from Lance….he's requesting an urgent meeting be held at my palace immediately." Proton grumbled. "Why is it always my palace we do these things at?"

"You're such a warm and welcoming host, that's why." Cassius joked and Proton tossed a piece of bread at his best friend's face, hitting him on the forehead. "Nevertheless, ya goin' hold the meeting?"

"I guess I have no choice, do I?" Proton questioned and Cassius just shrugged, biting down on the piece of bread with his sharp canine teeth. "We'll have to head home tomorrow then so we can prepare."

"We'll go with you then, to make things easier." Jasmine said, glancing to Sabrina and Volkner.

"Thank you, princess." Proton said as he stuffed the letter into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"I don't know if I want you going, Cassius. I know you and Lance don't get along well." Kate murmured, so the other towards the other end of the table couldn't hear. Leighton, Jasmine, Proton, Lyra, and Mikhail could hear it though, so could Nate and Volkner.

"He provoked me." Cassius said through gritted teeth, obviously not wanting to discuss this. "My control over it is fantastic. No one else knows except for this lot here and they're allies so I don't see a problem with it."

"Just let the damn boy go. Demon or not, he still acts full of himself and like a spoiled child. The world is changing, Kate, no one cares if you're a demon anymore." Mr. Hughes piped it.

"I need to think about it, but for now, you stay here." She told Cassius, who glared at her with his one uncovered eye.

"Guess that means you better sleep with me tonight since I won't get to see you for a few days!" He turned his attention back to Mikhail, where it usually was, and smiled at him.

"W-What?!" Mikhail exclaimed, embarrassed. "Sleep by yourself!"

* * *

><p>The next morning was beautiful and Lyra was upset that they had to leave the island. They all stood by the private harbor near the castle while the boat was being loaded with their bags.<p>

"You sure you aren't coming?" Jasmine asked Cassius, who shook his head no.

"Momma won't let me." He grumbled and Lyra giggled at this, so did Anna and Jo. He sounded like such a child. "I'll be there for the meetin', even if Nate and I gotta sneak off at night. Right?" He glanced to his knight, who nodded her head, before she continued to listen to Volkner.

"I hope they make it to the meeting." Leighton mumbled to Lyra. "Volkner is Nate's chance to break the curse…."

"Oh, he is, isn't he?" Jo questioned, over hearing them. "Love conquers all. Maybe love is the answer to Anna's?" She glanced over to the elf girl, who was just smiling a confused smile as Marlon continued to flirt, or try to, with her. "It's goin' go right over her head. She's so lost of that sort of stuff."

"I'll teach her and her and that werewolf boy will be together." Leighton nodded her head. "Then Volkner and Natalie, Proton and Lyra of course, Jo and Taylor, if I can swing it, Grimsley and Kassandra because they are too perfect for one another, Yuki and Sabrina, and if Mikhail will stop being a scardy cat and if Cas gets over his self-loathing, then Mikhail and Cassius!"

"Wait a second…." Jo muttered, but it was time to get on the boat.

"Seriously, be good." Mikhail said to Cassius, eying him as the others started to pile into the boat.

"I don't make promises that can't be kept." Cassius said with a grin as Mikhail got onto the boat. Marlon waved to Anna, disappointed that he couldn't go with her. "Have a safe trip!" He called out once they were all in. Lyra held onto Proton as the boat started to spend up.

"Why do I have such a bad feeling all of a sudden?" Lyra grumbled as they shot into the portal and landed in the harbor by Proton's castle.

"You have good reason to." Kassandra told her, rubbing her temples. "These next few days…..they don't seem too good. My visions have been so blurry lately."

"Maybe you should rest once we get inside." Lyra suggested, worried about the woman.

"I might. I know I'll need all the rest I can get if what I think is going to happen, does."

* * *

><p><strong>Mikhail did sleep in Cassius' room with him shut up I love them together.<strong>

**I am slowww.**

**Prepare for tons of shit to go down soon! :3 **

**Thank you for all the favorites, reviews, and follows! Each one helps me write even faster and better than before!**

**No Cassius or Natalie in the next chapter probably, so sad, but more of the other characters because I haven't been showing them nearly enough love BECAUSE THEY ARE BADASS**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm tired and this wasn't proof read**

* * *

><p>"So, when are they going to show up?" Jo asked as they sat out in the courtyard. Taylor was sharpening his swords, glancing at them as they chit chatted.<p>

"I don't know. I think it a day or two. Proton's been busy ever since we came back." Lyra sighed, leaning against the table they were sitting at. Mikhail was practicing his aim by shooting at targets Jo was moving back and forth with her magic. Anna threw her dragger and hit one right in the middle.

"Hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll yesssss!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. "Did you see?"

"We did." Taylor replied, surprised by her perfect aim. "It's amazing what you can do without a dress on."

"Everytime there's monsters, I'm wearing a stupid dress. That's the problem." Anna grabbed her dagger from the target when Jo lowered it so it was in her reach. "No more dresses! I'm wearing my baggy pants and maybe a nice top, since everyone else will be dressed all fancy. I won't wear shoes."

"You will wear shoes." Leighton crossed her arms as she leaned back in the chair. "Ballet flats. Easy to take off, if you must take them off."

"Deal, I can do it." Anna grinned, still excited. "Let's duel, Yuki!" She ran over to him, pulling him away to a more open place so no one would get hurt in the process.

"He's going to kick her ass." Taylor grumbled, slightly amused as Mikhail continued to practice his aim.

"Let her get out some energy." Jasmine smiled, sipping her tea with Lyra and Leighton. "The meeting is tomorrow, isn't it? I'm really growing tired of these."

"So am I. I don't even understand why we are at war." Leighton muttered. "How hard could it be just to go in there and stop it?"

Lyra knew, sort of, what was going on. Monsters had started appearing in kingdoms suddenly, killing and causing trouble. It all came from the Northern Kingdom, Nidma. It was a dangerous kingdom and magic was extremely strong there. It wasn't going to be easy to defeat it.

"It's hard to see that far ahead." Kassandra rubbed her temples. "It's hard to see a few days into the future as well now…..I don't know what going's on with my visions."

"Maybe you've just stressed them too much? You should just try to relax for a few days." Jasmine advised. "I'm sure they'll hit you when you need them too."

"I don't have a few days to get them back. Proton needs them now."

"Well Proton can wait." Lyra decided. "Don't let him pressure you, okay?" Kassandra nodded her head, before returning inside.

"Speaking of pressure…..your wedding is coming up quickly." Jasmine brought up.

"I'm pushing it back, there's no way to have a wedding in the midst of a war!" Lyra exclaimed but Leighton shook her head.

"There will be a wedding!" She argued, pushing her brown hair back behind her ears. "Look, I'm planning it all out for you, you don't have to do a thing. You and Proton will be married soon and have cute kids and it will be a great life, got it?"

"Fine fine fine, I have other things to worry about right now." Lyra sighed. "Like breaking everyone's curses, including yours." She looked to the chains on Leightin's wrists that faded out.

"Yes, please." Mikhail said, shaking his wrist that had a chain just like Leighton's on it.

"The witch said that it will break at a dramatic time. When one of us has to go off on their own." Leighton told her. "It's probably more of a trust thing, not finding true love or acceptance."

"That's kind of annoying." Lyra complained. "It's really annoying now. I can't figure out Anna's, and Cassius is nowhere close to being freed from his. Natalie is closer, but since she's stuck on the island and not here, I'm worried."

"Don't worry, I'll stay here or go to Cover's Island, whichever is best for her." Jasmine told her. "I want Volkner happy."

"Why do all curses break with true love? It's so cliché." Taylor complained.

"Because true love is the hardest thing to find, Taylor." Jo muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Well there's no way that demon is going to get an angel to fall in love with him. Angels aren't idiots." Taylor remarked snidely.

"You know an awfully lot about angels and demons don't you?" Lyra questioned, looking at him.

"I read books." He shrugged, looking off to see Yuki and Anna in the midst of sparring.

"Oh! The wedding dresses I've ordered have arrived! I need to go look at them. Want to come Lyra?" Leighton stood. Lyra shook her head, letting Leighton choose the dress for her.

"I'll come!" Jo said, hopping up, as did Jasmine. The two girls followed Leighton inside.

"You've read more than just books, right? Come on, spill." Lyra turned her attention to the male, who groaned.

"Look, my mom was an angel, my dad was a demon, and so, I know just about everything." He told her quietly. "Cassius not getting souls isn't his main problem, it's Mikhail."

"How…." Lyra was so confused. "But….what does that make you?"

"A hybrid." He answered. "That's why I argue with Cassius' so much. It's the inner demon that likes to piss him off." He smirked and chuckled. "I don't need souls to survive. Thank god for that. Cas would sleep with anyone to get a soul."

"Taylor!" Lyra hit his arm. "That's rude. He can't help it."

"You can take a soul without sleeping with the person. He slept with every maid and butler is this place, I'm pretty sure he even got with Lance's knight…which is pretty surprising. I'm betting he just made them forget after it was all done."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, demons are pretty well known for the eyes. They can convince a person to do just about anything with the eyes and make them forget. I'm sure he didn't need to convince them to sleep with him, but I'm sure he made them forget about his demonic side." Taylor shrugged, finishing his sword. "My angel side is far stronger in me than the demon side. Angels are truly amazing creatures. They can calm anyone down with just a look or a touch."

"They can?" She questioned, thinking.

"Yuppppppp!" He nodded his head as Lyra still gave off a confused expression.

"How is it Mikhail?" Lyra questioned, surprised by that chunk of information.

"It's complicated." He sighed. "Cassius' human side is weak without souls. He's getting grouchier and meaner. His demon side is able to take over more of the body then, making it hard to cover it. Now, since he doesn't have souls, his demon part is also pretty weak. He won't be as ferocious as he would normally be, unless he feels threatened or something like that. Trust me, he could still kill you in a heartbeat. His temper is not good and he really is becoming dangerous. If he comes to this meeting, who knows what will happen. Plus, now, his body is sort of rejecting souls. He wants Mikhail's soul so much, that no other soul will do, and that's his downfall."

Anna approached them, panting. "That was a horrible mistake. He kicked my ass." She whined, trotting inside to go get something to drink. Yuki followed, smiling widely.

"Mikhail, there is someone here to see you." Proton came outside, calling out to the boy. "It looks like it might rain soon, so you two need to come inside too." He said to Taylor and Lyra, who listened.

"Catarina?" Mikhail questioned when the group came into the main foyer. A woman with long blonde hair was standing there, smiling at him. "What are you doing here?" He asked as she pulled him into a hug.

"I wanted to see my little baby!" She cooed. "And…I'm engaged!" She exclaimed happily. "He's such a sweet guy, Mikhail, he's a duke too." She grinned as Mikhail looked surprised.

"Congrats!" Lyra said, smiling. "I'm Lyra, by the way!"

"Oh I know you!" Catarina replied. "And thank you. She's so lovely Proton, you are a lucky king. You will have to come and visit soon, Mikhail….wait.." She froze, pulling him close again and sniffing him. "You smell of demon, why?" She asked seriously, looking at him.

"It was probably Cassius. He clings onto you whenever he can." Proton told Mikhail.

"A demon clings onto you? Why?" She looked worried, hands on his shoulders.

"I dunno, he's a huge dork though." Mikhail told her, shrugging. "Does it matter? How did you smell him on me?"

Lyra tilted her head, thinking. Catarina was awfully beautiful. She had flawless skin, with beautiful and perfect blonde hair. She almost seemed to have a halo. "Angel." Lyra said suddenly, it all clicking. "That's why Cassius is always calm around you and why he likes being around you."

"Angel? Noooo." Mikhail shook his head, but when Catarina just bit her lip, he groaned. "Are you serious? We're angels?"

"Well, yes…" Catarina trailed off, smiling at him. "Surprise….."

"Catarina!" Mikhail exclaimed, but Taylor chuckled.

"This makes everything so much better." He laughed. "You've got Cassius hooked on you, you know."

"Tell me more about this." Catarina said, interested.

"Cassius is a prince, which is funny in itself because he hardly acts like one. Anyway, he's cursed to be a demon, though he contains it behind his left eye. Curse is broken when he learns to accept himself and when an angel falls in love with him. Lance pissed him off one day and he lost it, and the only one who could stop him was Mikhail. Ever since then, he clings onto him whenever he can. Cassius, I think, is desperate for his soul, he doesn't realize it though. His body is rejecting any other soul, because he only wants Mikhail. Now, he's having difficulty controlling his demon and since he's miles and miles away now, I'm quite sure he's going mad."

"You imprinted on a demon!? A PRINCE DEMON?!" Catarina shrieked. "Oh my…oh Mikhail. He'll take your soul!"

"No, Cassius wouldn't take my soul, Cat. He's had plenty of chances to do it, and he hasn't. Besides, he only takes half of peoples' souls, he could never kill someone." Mikhail explained hastily. "What are you talking about, Taylor? Wait, Cat, I imprinted?"

"It's complicated." Taylor said as Leighton, Jo, and Anna came into the room. "You see, people can fall in love with angels so easily, it's not surprising. I mean, look at your sister, she's beautiful. Sometimes, demons can stray and fall in love easily too. I can imagine that Cassius feels incredibly insecure about everything he does and his future. When he finally snapped, and you stopped him, it really left an imprint on him. You are the most calming thing in his life, and that's what he needs. Plus, I really think he liked you before you ever saved him. When demons grow attach, they don't let up easily, and the same goes with angels, though they tend to be more rational."

"He just wants to use you to break your curse." Catarina shook her head, worried about her little brother. "I can't let him do that to you and break your heart."

"Cassius would never do that." Proton spoke up. "He's an idiot, but he's incredibly loyal and honest. He has no clue Mikhail is an angel, he can be an idiot. He really does have feelings for Mikhail."

"I have to meet him." Catarina decided. "Before you two get into any relationship…."

"Who said we were going to date?!" Mikhail exclaimed and Jo laughed loudly.

"We all know it, Mikhail." Anna said smirking at him. The others chuckled and Mikhail looked extremely embarrassed.

"He might be coming to the meeting tomorrow, but I'm not sure. His mother isn't so trusting of his temper anymore." Proton sighed. "I'm going to speak with Yuki, excuse me." He left, stepping up the stairs hastily.

"Letter for Miss Anna." A maid said, entering the room and handing the letter to Anna.

"It's from Marlon!" Anna smiled. "I can't wait to tell him about me hitting the targets with my dagger." She hurried up to her room.

"What a unique group of characters here." Catarina said. "Curses can also be gifts."

"You think so?" Lyra asked.

"Of course. Curses can be just like secret powers." She continued, smiling softly. "I know you find your curse to be a burden, but it's a gift nonetheless." She told Jo, patting her head like a mother would. "It's hard to sustain it. You are very blessed with a true friend." She glanced to Taylor, then back to Jo. "Your curse is very helpful to others."

"Thank you." Jo said, slightly taken back by the aura Catarina gave off.

"It's no problem. Now, Mikhail, tell me more about this boy…."

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><p><strong>I said I wasn't going to focus on Cassius but I did it anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy<strong>

**Ehhhhhh, what up long time no update.**

**Ouran has eaten my life I just want to write fanfiction for it. **


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm a horrible human being I haven't updated it foreverrrrrrr. **

**So, honestly, this was how I always wanted this chapter to go. I like chaotic and messy and insane and OH MY GOD. So. Here we go.**

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><p>"An angel thinks my curse is a gift." Jo grumbled, staring at the floor.<p>

"I'm an angel." Mikhail muttered, running his hands through his hair.

"I have to wear one of these horrible dresses." Lyra sighed, staring at the three dresses that were on stands in front of them. They were awful and not Lyra's taste. "Look, I'm only getting married once and I'm not wearing ANY of these."

"I agree." Anna said, nodding her head. "None of these are Lyra."

"I know!" Leighton exclaimed, upset. "None of these are good enough for a queen! We have one month until this wedding and I need to find better dresses!"

"Plus that meeting is tonight." Anna brought up, just making it worse. "Keep your voice down. Yuki and Kassandra are resting. I think all this war stuff is stressing them out."

"I don't blame her. The monster attacks are getting worse and more frequent." Jo grumbled, nervously. They still couldn't figure out how the monsters were getting in.

"It doesn't matter now. They have the kingdom of Nidma completely surrounded." Jordan told them as he came into the room. "They plan to gather here for one last meeting before going in for the kill."

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><p>Lyra watched as everyone piled into the castle. Volkner looked for Natalie, but it appeared she was not here, and if she wasn't here, Cassius wasn't either.<p>

"Where is he?" Mikhail asked worriedly. "Something isn't right. I can feel it. He's hurting."

"Something is wrong." Taylor grabbed Jo's hand, holding it tightly. "If something happens, you stay with me, got it? Your magic is weak with these monsters." He warned her, ready to kill for the girl. Leighton patted Mikhail's back, the boy was still shaken up, nervously waiting for Cassius.

"There he is!" Anna exclaimed, noticing Marlon, Natalie, and Cassius enter the building. Cassius instantly started scanning the room, searching for Mikhail. He looked tired, with dark bags under his uncovered eye. When his eye landed on Mikhail, he smiled brightly. He looked ready to head over to the blond male's spot in the room, but was grabbed by diplomats and dragged away.

"Watch him." Taylor growled, noticing Skylar. "He's trouble." He warned the group as they watched everyone. It seemed okay, until there was a large crash. Anna whipped out her dagger, ready for anything.

"Monsters have infiltrated the northern wall!" A guard shouted and chaos broke out. There was no order, just panic.

"Mikhail!" Cassius shouted, as an orb appeared right next to the group. The diplomats that had grabbed him weren't letting him go, and turned into monsters. Natalie instantly attacked them with Marlon, but they were strong orcs. People began to scream as monsters came out of the orb. Lyra felt herself be pushed back, and Proton was standing in front of her, sword drawn.

"Get out of here." He ordered her, pushing the others back. Taylor stood ready to fight, as did Jo, Anna, Jordan, and Volkner. Kassandra and Yuki jumped back as another orb appeared, Yuki trying to quickly come up with a strategy. "Jo, protect them!" He ordered.

Jo hurriedly pushed Lyra, Leighton, and Jasmine away from the orb, creating a shield around them. She gathered others that couldn't protect themselves, pushing them all to a safe corner on the room in hopes to protect them better. "Okay, okay, I got this." She told herself, relieved when Jordan came to assist her. "Protecting the princesses."

"We can't watch like this!" Lyra exclaimed, wanting to go fight. Yuki began shouting orders as Anna stabbed a monster and Kassandra shot one with an electric blast. Natalie and Marlon were trying to free Cassius, but it was proving difficult. Mikhail was corned by monsters and was running out of arrows to use.

"Oh god, he's going to lose it." Leighton murmured, watching Cassius. "This can't be happening!"

It was a mess. Keeping up with it all was impossible. Cassius broke free from the orcs grips, already in his demon form, startling the people who didn't know of his curse. He launched himself at the monsters attacking Mikhail, showing no mercy.

"Demon!" Skylar shouted, drawing his sword to fight Cassius. "You're the reason for the monster attacks!" Cassius turned on him, eyes completely red.

"Cassius, don't fight him!" Mikhail shouted, but Cassius wasn't listening.

"Kassandra!" Grimsley shouted as she was clawed. She collapsed, holding her ankle tightly. He ran over to protect her and Marlon ran over as well, lifting her up on his back as Grimsley protected them. He hurried her over to Jo and Jordan to keep her under their protection. Grimsley stayed with the group, not being able to leave Kassandra's side.

Natalie now joined Mikhail in trying to stop Cassius, but he wasn't listening to either of them. Mikhail didn't know what to do, so he grabbed Cassius, yanking him away from Skylar, who was ready to kill him. Natalie jumped into the battle in his place, ready to kill Skylar.

Mikhail gripped hard onto Cassius, even as the demon struggled in his grasp. He slowed before stopping completely, leaning against Mikhail. "Take him to Jo!" Silver ordered for Natalie, eyes not leaving Skylar as they fought. Mikhail did as he was told, dragging the demon to the safety of the force field.

"Why did you stop me?" Cassius asked as Mikhail got them both to safety.

"You were going to get yourself killed!" Mikhail exclaimed, glaring at him. "You just lost it!"

"I can't control it!" He shouted back, angry. "I can't handle it. It's killing me, Mikhail. I'm going to die because of this damn thing! It's rejecting everything and it's driving me insane. I am slowly dying!"

"You need to control it!" Mikhail told him, grabbing hold of his arms.

"All it wants is you and I can't have you." He shook, like he was ready to lose his mind again. "Just let me go!"

"Shut up." Mikhail said, fist balled. "You can have me, dammit, okay?" His face was red. "This is an awful time to say this since our world is under attack but I love you, okay!" He exclaimed. "So stop freaking out!" Cassius just stared at him.

"I think you're the one freaking out here." Jordan muttered as Yuki destroyed another orb. Proton and Taylor were tag teaming a group of large monsters, but it didn't seem to matter. More and more monsters were coming. Skylar and Natalie were neck in neck in their battle and Volkner joined in, helping Natalie.

"I know this is an awful time for this." Volkner started as he blocked Skylar's attack. "But if we both survive this and our world isn't destroyed or overrun by monsters. Would you marry me?" He questioned and Natalie's eyes went wide. She stared at him before attacking Skylar. "You're the most terrifying woman I have ever met before. You're strong and fearless and you honestly, scare the shit out of me. I really like that. You're beautiful and caring too, and it would be an honor to be your husband."

"Are you really doing this now?!" Taylor exclaimed as he chopped off a monster's head.

"I needed to say it in case I die!" Volkner argued, beating back Skylar.

"Yes!" Natalie exclaimed, surprised by her voice. "Oh my god." She said, holding her mouth with one hand. "I can talk."

"WHY IS EVERYTHING HAPPENING NOW!?" Taylor exclaimed.

"Oh my god." Leighton's eyes were wide as she watched this. "YOU TWO CAN'T DIE NOW! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!"

"Guess this means we're getting married too, right?" Cassius chuckled, looking at Mikhail, who just punched him in the arm.

"Jordan." Leighton looked at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Leighton we are in the middle of a major battle I am not proposing to you now." He told her, making her frown.

Lyra watched Proton closely, scared. She wanted him behind the force field with her, she wanting to hold his hand and keep him safe. He was her king, she was going to marry him. She wanted to marry him. She saw a sword on the ground and glanced at her friends, before dashing out and grabbing it. She rushed to Proton's side.

"Lyra!" The others shouted for her, catching Proton's attention.

"Lyra, get back to the others." Proton ordered, but she ignored him, cutting a monster's head off.

"No! I want to stay with you and fight. I can't just watch everyone die to protect me!" She continued to fight, and Proton didn't argue any further, knowing how stubborn Lyra was.

Lyra had no clue what would happen if she were to die. Would she get sent back to her world? Would everything just end for her?

She didn't have much time to think as more monsters came. She was starting to panic as Proton was backed into a corner. It didn't seem to matter if she would die and everything would end as she rushed forward, jumping in front of Proton as a monster attacked him.

"LYRA!" Proton screamed as her world went black.


	14. Chapter 14

**I suck. Why did this take me so long to do it's so short but honestly this is how I always planned it to go**

**God so I'm so sorry that I just blarged on this but I love this chapter a lot and yeah, the ending is up to you.**

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><p>Lyra sat up, looking around dazed. The 'build your character' choice was up on her tv and her game controller was on the floor next to her. Her whole body was sore and she was confused.<p>

She was obviously back home.

But, what happened?

Was it all a dream?

After sitting for a few minutes, she picked up the controller, made her character, and played the route as the princess. She chose Proton, befriended every character, figured out their secrets, freed them from their curses, and married Proton.

She replayed it over and over, until the break was over and she had to go back to school.

* * *

><p>"How was your break everyone?" Her homeroom teacher asked as they students piled into the room. Lyra sat, gloomy, thinking back to her friends and Proton.<p>

She had to accept the fact that maybe it was all a dream. Maybe she just played video games too much? But…it was so real. It felt so real.

"Now class, as you know, I'm expecting a child very soon, so I want to introduce you to the teacher that will be covering me for my maternity leave." Her teacher opened the door and Lyra's jaw went slack. "This is Ms. Kassandra."

Lyra couldn't believe it.

There Kassandra was.

Or…or a woman that looked just like her. The same hair, face, nose, eyes, everything!

The sub scanned the room, her eyes landing on Lyra. She smiled at her, gave her a little wave then went on to talk to the rest of the class.

Lyra stared at her hands the rest of class, until the bell rang. She wanted to talk to Kassandra, but her teacher kept talking to her. As she walked by them, Kassandra winked at Lyra, giving her a little smirk.

Lyra continued to her locker, surprised to find the locker next to her was occupied. It had been vacant all year so far. The door to it was shut and Lyra felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, and caught a glimpse of Anna, who waved happily at Lyra while Marlon held her hand, pulling her towards their next class.

"A-Anna?"

"We got so many new students.." Silver grumbled as he approached her. "As if our school isn't crammed enough."

New students?

If Kassandra and Anna were here, the others would be too, right?

"So I said-" A loud voice said and Lyra looked behind her. "Hey, you guysssss!" The girl whined, grabbing both of the males she was walking with.

"Jo? Taylor? Skylar?" Lyra questioned and the blue haired girl stopped, and turned around. "Oh thank god we got the right school!" She squealed, running back to hug Lyra. "They told us not to really interact with you until a little later but I can't help it!"

"W-What are you doing here?"

"You know her?" Silver questioned, confused.

"I can't tell you that now." Jo winked. "But I gotta go, I'll see you later though, promise. C'mon boys!" She grinned and went off to join the two males, who rolled their eyes.

"She was an old friend.." Lyra was now excited and took off down the hall after she shut her locker. They were all here! She had to find them all!

"Hey, watch where you're going! Ladies do not run." She heard a female voice chide her as she rushed down the hallway. Lyra practically skidded to a stop and looked, seeing Leighton looking at herself in her locker mirror. "Honestly, how do they expect me to live with a locker this small?"

"Leighton." Jordan was next to her, holding all of her books. "Lyra." He nodded his head to her, and she smiled at them. "I'm guessing someone has told you."

"Anna?" Leighton questioned. "No no no, Anna can keep secrets. Must have been Jo. Bless her heart." Leighton applied lip gloss before looking at Lyra. "I'm not sure if the others are here yet…I do know Yuki is back with his family in Japan, though. He gave me his skype username to give to you…..when is lunch in this horrible place?"

"In a few hours. He made it home? Thank goodness." Lyra had worried about what became of the other human boy. She couldn't wait to talk to him again. "The others might not be here?" She frowned.

"I'm sure they are." Leighton nodded her head and Lyra went off in search for the others again.

Lyra was worried now. Was he here? Did he make it?

"Lyra, finally." Silver panted, catching up to her. "Slow down."

"Sorry.." She mumbled, slowing down, but looking everywhere in the crowded lobby of the school.

"Like I was saying, we have so many new kids. I got this girl in my science class as my new partner. She doesn't talk much." Silver started to talk and Lyra perked up at this. "She does her work, so, I won't complain. Oh, there she is now." He nodded his head towards a blonde girl, who had an annoyed look on her face.

"Natalie!" Lyra called and the girl turned and look at her. She smiled at Lyra and turned back to Volkner. "Oh, he got here too? Good." She smiled at the couple, happy that both were able to get here. "Wait, if she's here thennnnnnnnnn." She looked around, knowing there was no way Cassius wouldn't be close by.

"Cassius, stop it." Mikhail muttered as they walked by Lyra. Cassius was holding his hand tightly and nuzzling his cheek.

"But I love you." Cassius pouted. He winked at Lyra as he walked by. "Boss man is lookin' for ya too." He told her. "Think he's somewhere in here."

"Thank you! Excuse me Silver." Lyra rushed away, not caring if she was going to be late for her next class. She looked everywhere for Proton's green hair, but she couldn't find him anywhere.

"You're going to be late." A voice behind her said. She turned around quickly and almost screamed.

There he was.

Right there.

Standing in front of her.

"Proton!" She exclaimed and he smiled. She jumped at him, hugging him tightly.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, princess." He murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Why did you jump out in front of me like that? You know how dangerous that was? I thought you were dead until Yuki told me the truth. Come on." He pulled her to one of the doors that led outside and they left the building so no teachers would yell at them. Lyra could care less about skipping class.

"I couldn't let you die. I knew I'd come back to my world, or something." She told him.

"Everything makes a lot of sense now, actually…" He started. "Especially when I first met you. You did pretty well for someone who was suddenly transferred into a video game."

"Thanks. Hey, how did you get out?" She questioned, tilting her head.

"A bit of magic." He shrugged with a smirk. "We didn't think we could do it until you beat the game and freed us all of curses. It's odd, this world you live in, but we all figured we'd all be happier here then have our lives restarted over and over and over again everytime you decided to play the game. I think Cassius was starting to lose his mind a bit. You can only handle so many mental breakdowns and falling in love over and over again."

"So you guys can stay out here in my world?" Lyra questioned.

"Yes, or, you can return back to the game with all of us, if that's what you want."

"I can decide that?" She questioned, surprised.

"Yes. We've worked it out that way, it seems. It's all between Jo, Kassandra, and Jordan. They worked it out. If you go back, you will cease to exist here and you won't be able to come back to this world. Then again, we age much, much, muchhhhhhhhh slower in that world. You'd think since the seasons change so quickly we'd age faster… I don't understand the video game concepts…" He looked confused as he explained this. "But after you disappeared and we defeated the monsters and made sure everyone was safe, Yuki explained what happened. Continuing without you didn't feel right at all, though we all did. With Natalie's curse broken and Cassius' broken, it made things easier."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes, greatly. After you were gone, we all had to work together. Yuki suggested if we did that, broke our curses, and figured out what the hell was happening in our world, we might get to see you again." Proton told her. "It just wasn't right without you, but we managed."

"I can't believe it.." She thought it over. She could go back to that world, she could be a princess again.

"Everything is at peace now. All thanks to you, of course." He told her, holding her hands. "If we go back, though, you have to remember, you will have to marry me. I was going to give you the option of backing out of the treaty deal, but now, I'm too in love with you to let you go. I'll stay in whichever world you want, princess."


End file.
